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3 3433

;

]

THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

BOOKS OF HISTORY, TRAVEL
AND ARCHSOLOGY

Lombud Studitt.

Bv the Countess Martinbngo-Cbsarbsco. With

Pnotogravure Frontispiece and many other Illus- i

tiations. Demy 8vo, cloth, i6x.

The RMeoL, Andeat and BOodefiu \

By Charlbs Lbnthbric. Translated by C. {

WEST. With Maps and Plans. Large crown 8vo, \
cloth, ys, 6d.

The Cotfiitry of Horace and VIrgiL

By Gaston Boissibr. Translated by D. Havb-

LOCK FiSHBR. Large crown 8vo, doth, 7^. 6d. \

Rome and Pompeii (Ptomcnadct Afchaologlqttci).
By Gaston Boissibr. Translated by D. Havb-
LOCK FiSHBR. With Maps and Plans. Popular
Edition. Large crown Svo, cloth, 2s, 6d, net.

A Guide to Sicnas Hialory and Aft*

By William Hbvwood and Lucy Olcoit. Crown
8vo, doth, 6s. net

The Ttncan Rtp^OiibeMp with Gcaoa*

By Bblla Duffy. Illustrated. I^rge crown 8vo,
doth, 5r. (Story of the Nations.)

The History of Ebccace for the Pint Two Ccntttries,

By Professor Pasqualb Villari. Illustrated.
Popular Edition. Large crown 8vo, doth, 2s, 6d,
net.

LONDON: T. FISHER UNWIN.

THE

LOMBARD COMMUNES

A HISTORY OF THE REPUBLICS
OF NORTH ITALY

W. F. BUTLER, M.A.

pBonsaos of modbrn lamouaois, qubsm^ oollsoi, oobi

ILLUSTRATED

Vagliami il lango studio e'l grande 3xnon

LONDON
T. FISHER UNWIN

ADELPHI TERRACE
MCMVI

•^4 \^

• - •

• •••

{All rights nsetved.)

PREFACE

In tracing this history of the city-states of Lombardy I ^
have relied in the main for the facts on Lanzani's '^ Storia
dei Comuni italiani/' and on the works, earlier in
date, but di£Fering but little as to the events recorded, of
JLeo, von Raumer, and Sismondi. But I have carefully
checked their statements by reference to Muratori's great
compilation, the ''Annali d'ltalia/' and to the contem-
porary chronicles published by him in the ''Rerum
Italicarum Scriptores."

For special points I have consulted numerous other
works, amongst which are specially to be named Salzer's
'* Ueber die Anfange der Signorie in Oberitalien " and
CipoUa's " Storia di Verona." Cantij, in his " Storia degli
Itahani " and " Storia di Como/' gives many curious details
as to life and manners. Ferrari's " Histoire des Revo-
lutions d'ltalie," though its political theories are wild in
the extreme, gives perhaps the best idea of the warfare
between city and city, and the fury of internal factions.

There are, however, one or two points ii>. regard 40. ;-.:
which I di£Fer from most of the writers qiiQfcd.\r-/ Y *^--* '- -

Lanzani, following Ferrari and others,* lays doMi^n :%"-
theory of the origins of the internal feuds oKdij^i^i^iah*.'
^. cities, which has found great favour in the^peAinsQla**:^/
o He holds that these factions were, in a large' tof^itsr^/ thi ^* '
- - result of an antagonism between the civic nobility, who
J were to a certain extent of Roman descent, or who, at
^. any rate, had imbibed Roman ideas, and the country
. / nobles, men in whom German ideas still survived, and
who had been forced by the victorious burghers to come
' and live within the walls of the cities.

V imasFACE

\'*t^\ \Uv» UuHMy M«/«;i)is to me to be entiren* nnsnpported
^^ ..NoU'tu* , a |>oiii( ^Ift^ady fldenlioncd b>' Saiser. It is
%^\^\ tn4«v lo <UiiN tlM; noble families of a cinintoswo
t«l^im«Hi|t Uctiotii>. but it would be pracucain' ub-
P«t-««.(hl» («) liud 4tiy ciu»e in wiiicb one of these tacnions |

«^|M».«»>iiU<t thr oitKtnal civic aristocrac}, the otiier tiie |

Ai:*»«*i J^**<* ***^' y*»niondi, in their acconnt of tiie I

(^< hoii*. HI 1li«' north'-east of Italy in the early timteenth |

*»>iiU*i\, i«-|>i«MfMt the family of Romano as a: tht head •

111 (4 iiuhU- iPi t;|jibelline party, in opposition to a popular I

l,u» II om*. but, apart from the fact that the ust- o: the
iii4iu«''* Uu«'ll and Ghibelline is here an anachronism,
(h« tAMifudc oi the house of Romano towards the Empire ;

utitl IuwiAmIn the nobles is entirely misrepresented. Sc
Uf lioiii lM'in>: ;i partisan of the Hohenstanfen dynasn\
tv**/* t»t»t» tlK btauunerer, the first of his house to nst to
|M«>u)iii«Hiv4'i Jiad tto incurred the enmity* of Biirbarossa.
DmI h hjm^ tal clause to secure him against the Emipero:' s
v»'t)K«^«nM* was inserted into the Peace of Consxanz.
Ills MMi lv./^*hno the Monk sided with Otho of Saxonv,
Dm uv4l ul Kiederick II. of Hohenstaufen. And thoupi
th« Ust atui most famous Ezzelino won most ot Hib
ifc-ikt/wn a^ a parli^n of Frederick II., in his early career,
^'. (.;i(Miiunii has clearly shown, he had been hostiit to
iImI M>vviei5*n.

AutI 111 tlic second place, when the houst^ of Romano
^)»H«-^**'' ^ ^^^^ chief disturbing element in the nortli-eas:
411 .l.Uly m-.Jliad it, not heading a faction of country
4^<^t^k^\«^Jalni{/fhe bm^faers of the towns, but, on the
. V«#«t(t^*» alliJd with the popular party in Verona, and
»vwilU:S^^^<Wfe<>^5"^ ^^ Fcrrara, whom we are expressly told
•tf-^vrp|K»»«l byti»e **pJcbcianh" there, and in oppo>
^uiAM'io.iUtilgrBai noble houses oi the Veronese Mart
A\kt Marqui^eb of Estt, the Counts of San Bonifaao,

Uii lAHd^ of Cammo and Camposampiero. To all these

^At-:Ai iH>biiK> the House of Romaiui must, as a matter of

1^^ f liAVc appcsar^ ah mere up^urt^.

I luvc ^eiectec tiie mapb U/ iliustratr as far as possible

<4.* uiAuiifcr w wuidj now our tachon now tlic other 'to;

PREFACE 7

the upper hand in the Communes. The boundaries of
the various city-states are taken from those given in the
historical atlases of Spruner-Menke and Droysen, with
some small modifications suggested by the chronicles.
The material at present available for Piedmont is very
unsatisfactory. With regard to maps iv and v, I
have coloured the whole of the district subject to each
city with the colour of the faction which for the moment
was the prevailing one in the city itself. But it must be
remembered that in almost every case there was a body
of exiles in possession of a greater or lesser number of
the country castles and the districts adjoining them.

A book dealing with Italy hardly seems complete
without some mention of literature and art But as
regards literature in the vulgar tongue and painting,
though the Tuscans before the date at which this work
ends had already achieved some of their greatest
triumphs in these fields, what the Lombards had ac-
complished is so slight as to be hardly worth noticing.

With architecture, however, things are very different.
Lombardy possesses a remarkable wealth of monuments,
extending from the days of the Roman Empire to those
of the Renaissance. In a city like Verona, for instance,
there is an almost unbroken succession of remains cover-
ing the whole of that period.

The epoch more especially dealt with in this woric, the
age of the free cities, has left us abundance of memorials
in both religious and secular edifices. In Modena and
Parma, in Cremona and Pavia we find churches, ^in .
that style of Romanesque architecture; ifo^'^jtchV th^ '
special name of Lombard is given, withifr'who^. walls,
were held the first assemblies of the hvigher'fy'al ipe
growing city republics, before whose altars ko^ Jtbe men
who went forth to conquer at Legnano, tor w)v>ie shrH>0s
came some German Cassar to return thanks Yor a fleeting
victory over the liberties of the Communes. And to
these solemn piles, with their porches supported by lions
carved in marble, their fa9ades covered with grotesque
carvings of men and animals, their massive walls relieved
by round-arched colonnades, their high raised sanctuaries

8 PREFACE

under which are dim crypts supported by contorted
pillars, succeed the lighter forms of the pointed arch,
introduced from beyond the Alps.

As regards secular buildings, the grim square towers
still stand in Bologna and Mantua, Pavia and Asti which
recall the days when round their bases rang the clash of
arms of rival factions. Verona, Brescia, Bergamo,
Piacenza show us noble examples of the magnificence of
the Communes. The public palace, or seat of govern-
ment, called by various names — Palace of the Commune,
Broletto, Palace of Justice or of Reason — is still one of the
chief features of these and other cities. Prom under the
great archway the Carroccio bearing the battle-flag of the
republic was drawn into the piazza by the hands of
children or noble ladies, while the bell in the great tower
above rang out defiance to some rival Commune. In
the great halls in the upper storey met the various councils J

of the state. From the richly decorated balcony project-
ing from the centre of the pile the rulers harangued the
people, or, if they lost the favour of the fickle populace,
were hurled down to the vengeance of the mob seething
in the piazza below.

But there is no lack of books in English dealing with
these buildings from the point of view of architecture.
My intention has been rather to tell of the purposes for
which these edifices were constructed, and the times of
which they are a memorial.

»••• ••/ •••• ••

• • • • • «

• • • ••••

• • • z •• •••••••

CONTENTS

PAOB
PREFACE ........ 5

TABLE OP PRINCIPAL DATES ..... 13

GENEALOGICAL TABLE . 15

ROUGH LIST OF BOOKS USEFUL FOR THE STUDY OF THE

HISTORY OF THE LOMBARD COMMUNES . . . 17

CHAPTER I
WHAT LOMBARDY IS, AND HOW MUCH . I9

CHAPTER II
THE RULE OF THE BISHOPS ..... 28

CHAPTER III
THE RISE OF THE COMMUNES . 50

CHAPTER IV
MILAN AND HER NEIGHBOURS ..... 78

CHAPTER V
MILAN AND FREDERICK BARBAROSSA .99

- CHAPTER VI
THE LOMBARD LEAGUE . . I23

10 CONTENTS

CHAPTER VII

PAOB

THE CONQUEST OF THE CONTADO AND THE GROWTH OF

FACTION . . . . . . .159

CHAPTER VIII
THE WARS OF THE CITIES AND THE PACTIONS OF THE MARK 202

CHAPTER IX
FREDERICK, THE WONDER OF THE WORLD, AND THE SECOND

LOMBARD LEAGUE ...... 232

CHAPTER X
FREDERICK'S WAR WITH THE LOMBARDS AND WITH THE CHURCH . 263

CHAPTER XI
THE FALL OF EZZELINO— THE CAREER OF OBERTO PELAVICINI 3IO

CHAPTER XII
GUBLFS AND GHIBELLINBS AND THE RISE OF THE POPOLO . 34I

CHAPTER XIII

THE RISE OF THE TYRANNIES — THE COMING OF HENRY OP

LUXEMBURG ....... 377

CHAPTER XIV
VISCONTI AND DELLA SCALA . . 407

CHAPTER XV
THE LAST STRUGGLES OF THE COMMUNES .... 435

INDEX ........ 4^5

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

BOLoesA ....... FramtispUu

VEBOMA ...... fadmg fa^ 16

TOMB OF THEODOKIC, KAVEMlf A ...... 34

OTHO L ....... ., 51

HBMBT IV. ....... .. 52

6REGOST vn. ........ 66

" TOBBE B LOeSiA " ....... 80

ISOIA OQHACDIA ........ tfj

COMBAO m. ...... .. 97

L 99

NAVIGUO 6BAWDE ...... IO5

FOBTA TICINESE ....... I33

ALEZAMDEB m. ABD THE DOGE OP VEK1CB .... I5I

HElIBYVI.(FBKHCA]fnniESI]fGEBllS.OFTHEI4THCE«TUBT) 163

SAN GBMieMAMO ...... ^ 165

A TOWBB, MABTUA ...... I79

GATEWAT, CnXAOELLA ..... ^ I&)

TOWEBI or 8AB GBMIGBABO . . . . ^ I92

aOATB. A rOBfBBIS OF THE OOmiTS CMT lAV BOUFAZIO ., »6

90AVB. ABOTBEB VKV ...... 306

TBEVnOL BAUMK DBL QSLMM O0B8IGUO . . ^ 220

COMO. BBOLETTO . ^ 237

FBBIWBICX n. WITH HB BAWK8 . . . . ^ 235

SBAL OF FBFnBBICB D. A HOHBMTADFEB BBKBT ^ 242

•. 2|6

LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS

Facing page

BASSANO

▼ICENZA

MONSBUCE

BEROAlfO. BROLETTO

BASSANO. BZZEUNO'S CASTLE

SOAVE. THE KEEP

BOLOGNA. TOMB OP R. PASSEGGIERI

CrXTADELLA, WITH PRISON OF MALTA

VERONA. ROMAN BRIDGE .

VERONA. CHURCH OF SAM GIORGIO

PIACENZA. CATHEDRAL •

VERONA. PALAZZO DELLA RAGIONE

BOLOGNA. LEANING TOWERS

THE GREAT TOWER OF CREMONA .

THE CASTLE OF ESTE

THE CASTLE OF SIRMIONE .

VERONA. CHURCH OF SAN ZENONE

ELECTION OF HENRY VU.

VERONA. BRIDGE AND CASTLE OF THE SCALIGERS

VICENZA. CHURCH OF SAN LORENZO

TOMB OF CAN GRANDE DELLA SCALA

MANTUA. PALACE OF THE BONACCOLSl

PAVIA IN THE i6TH CENTURY

251
256

267
272
286
292

319
327
328

339
346

355
366

374
383
385
399
421
428

432
446

463

LIST OP MAPS.

GENERAL MAP OF LOMBARDY

• »»

LOMBARDY IN 12 12

• • II

216

LOMBARDY IN I255

• • »»

315

LOMBARDY IN I280

• • i»

370

LOMBARDY IN 1310

• • »i

407

LOMBARDY IN I336

• If

458

TABLE OF PRINCIPAL DATES

AJ>.

41a Alaric takes Rome.

476. Odovacer deposes the Emperor Romnlos Angnstnlos.

4^. The Goths conqner Italy.

553. Jnstmian sabdnes all Itsdy.

568. The Lombards invade Italy.

750 or 51. The Lombards capture Ravenna.

754. Pepin, king of the Franks, invades Italy.

756. Pepin's donation of the Exarchate of Ravenna and the
Pentapolis to St. Peter.

773. Lombard kingdom destroyed by Pranks.

800. Charlemagne receives the Imperial Crown in Rome from
Pope Leo III.

962. Otho the Great crowned Emperor at Rome.
1074. D^ree of P6pe Gregoiy VII. concerning Investitures.
1122. Concord of Worms.
1152. Accession of Frederick Barbarossa.
1162. Destrnction ci Milan*
1167. The Lombard Leagae formed.
1176. Battle of Legnano.
1 183. Peace of Constance.
1197-1209. Contest for Imperial Crown between Philip of

Hohenstaofen and Otho of Bavaria.
1212. Otho quarrels with Pope Innocent III., who sets up

Frederick II. of Hohenstaofen as Empenx*.
1220. Frederick II. crowned at Rome.
1226. Second Lombard Leagoe formed.
1237. Batfle (rf Cortennova.
1247. Revolt of Parma from Frederick II.
1250. Death of Frederick II. The Great Interr^nnm till 1273.
1259. Downfall of Ezzelino.
1266. Invasion of Charles of Anjoo.
1277. The Visconti expel the Delia Torre from M Oan.
1290. Downfall of William of Montferrat
1302. The Delia Torre expel the Visconti from Milan.
1310. Henry of Loxemborg comes to Italy.

14 TABLE OP PRINCIPAL DATES

A.D.

13 1 3. Death of the Emperor Henry of Luxemburg.

1327. Louis of Bavaria comes to Italy and deprives the Visconti of

their power.
1330. King John of Bohemia comes to Italy. '
1332. League formed by the Despots of Lombardy against

King John.
1336. Piacenza surrenders to Azzo Visconti.

THE SAXON LINE
Henry I. '*The Fowler/* German King, 919-936.

Otho I^ King 936, Emperor 962 ;
Otho IL, 973-983-
Otho III^ 983-1002.

Henry, Duke of Bavaria.

Henry 11., Duke of Bavaria.

Saint Henry, Emperor 1002-1024.

THE SALIAN OR FRANCONIAN LINE

Conrad '* The Salic," great grandson of Liutgarde, sister of
Otho IL, Emperor 1034-1039.

Henry HI., 1039-1056.
Henry IV., 1056-1x06.

THE HOHENSTAUFEN
LINE.

Henry V., 1x06-1x25.

les a Frederick, Duke of
Swabia.

Lothair of Saxony,
1135-1x38.

Ottio of Bavaria or
Saiony, d. X2i8.

Frederick,
Duke of
Swabia.

Conrad III., Otho, Bishop
Emperor of

X138-XX52. Freisingen.

Frederick " Barbarossa," Emperor
1x52-1x90.

Henry VI.,
Emperor
1x90-97.

Frederick

Philip of Swabia,
)dUed X2o8.

Frederick II.,
Emperor 1 11 2-1 150.

Henry,
o. s. f, X342.

Conrad IV.,
"50-5*.

Manfred,

Henry,
o. s. p. 1253. killcd 1266
(illegitimate).

Conradin, beheaded 1268.

ROUGH LIST OF BOOKS USEFUL FOR THE
STUDY OF THE HISTORY OF THE
; * LOMBARD COMMUNES

Canto, C KziaeBno da Romano. Milan, 1879.

,, Sioria degli ItaiianL Tnrin, 1855.

,. „ defiaCSttaedeDaDkMXsiciiCoawL Florence, iS^

CipoOa. Compcndio defla SCoria politica di Verooa. Verona, 19001
Confereoze Florentine snila vita ilaliana. Articles bjr Boniadint and

others in. Milan, 1895.
FerrarL Hisloire des Revolotioos d'ltafie. Pmi%, 1858L
Fisher. The Medieval Enqwe. London, iSgfll "^
Gfttemuuu. F.i iriiiio von Romano SiiUlgiit, 1890L
HegeL Gesdncfate der SfaKttverfaannig ion ItafieoL Letpz^ 1847.
laniani. Storia dei fOMOiiiiii itaJiani daDe orient al 131 j. Milan,

188 1.
Leo. Gfscliichte von Ifalim. Hambv]^ 182^
Nieseo. Itaiische Eidknnde.

Von Ranmer. fif-viiMhlr. der Hohenaturfen. Leipz^ 1840.
Salzer. UefaerclieAnlangrderS^porieinObrrifaHfn, Bciini,i9oa
Sismnwli, Hisloire des Rc|wiMk|Mes itaiimnri Fvis, 1840.
Symonds. The Renaiaance in Italy. London, 1898.^
Toot The Empire and the Pqncy. London, 1878. ^
VHfarL Le Invaaioni barbariche in Italiau Milan, 1901.

„ I Prnni due Secofi della Sloria di FircnacL Florence, 1893,
Street, Brick and Marble in the Middle A^esL London, 1874.

CHAPTER I

WHAT LOIffBARDY IS, AND HOW MUCH

The Lombards were the last of the Germanic tribes
who effected a settlement within the limits of the Roman
Empire. They selected the Italian peninsula itself for
attack, and pushed their conquests far and wide through
the land, until their dominions stretched from the Alps
to those lands in the south once known as Apulia and
Lucania. But, as they entered Italy from the north, the
first object of their attack was the fertile plain watered by
the Po. There they established the seat of their govern-
ment, there they settled down most thickly on the
conquered soil, and there they have left until our own
day the impress of their name.

Lombardy, then, in the earliest sense of the word,
comprised the whole territory bounded by the Alps, the
Apennines and the sea, with the exception of those
portions which still remained subject to the Emperors
who reigned at Constantinople. Subsequent political
changes have altered the extent of territory to which
the name has been applied. On the west, the name
Pedemonte, or Piedmont, at first given to the districts
lying close to the foot of the Alps, has, with the growth
of the power of the House of Savoy, gradually extended
its signification, until it came to t>e applied to the whole
country as far east as the Ticino and the Scrivia. The
north-eastern corner of the peninsula, detached for a
time from Italy, and added to the German kingdom as a
" Mark " or frontier province, received from this circum-
stance the name of Veronese or Trevisan Mark. This
district, IxHinded by the Mincio and the Po, corre-

20 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

sponded roughly with the territory occupied by the
ancient people of the Veneti. When in the fifteenth
century the city of Venice brought it under her sway it
was natural that the old name Venetia should be revived
and applied to all this region. South of the Po the
great Roman road, the Via iGmilia, had given in
ancient times its name to the district it traversed. This
name persisted under the form Emilia, and as the lands
south of the Po became politically detached from those
lying north of the river, we find the name of Emilia
given to the states ruled by the Dukes of Parma and of
Modena.

In our own day, then, Lombardy designates the land
lying between the rivers Ticino, Po, and Mincio. But
for the student of the history of medieval Italy

"The waveless plain of Lombardy,
Bounded by the vaporous air,
Islanded by cities fair/'

is most conveniently taken as including the whole space
between Alps and Apennines watered by the Po and its
tributaries.

It is the history of the city life of this region, the
rise of republican institutions in the face of the feudal
system which prevailed in Western Europe, the contests
which resulted between the two opposing principles, the
conflicts between city and city, and the final extinction
of freedom at the hands of tyrants, themselves, for the
most part, the offspring of republican institutions, that
I wish to trace in these pages.

The central physical feature of the regions with which
I am about to deal is the great River Po, which, flooring
nearly due east from its source under Monte Viso to the
many mouths by which its waters mingle with those of
the Adriatic Sea, during its course of over four hundred
miles, forms, as it were, a great central artery running
through the plain between the Alps and the Apennines,
and affording an easy means of communication from the
sea to Casale in Montferrat.

WHAT LOMBARDY IS, AND HOW MUCH 21

The whole level space between the two mountain
ranges seems once to have been a gulf of the Adriatic.
Only the chain of the Cottian Alps connected Italy
with the rest of Europe. The streams flowing from the
mountains and bringing with them masses of detritus,
in the course of ages silted up this gulf, until they
finally produced an alluvial plain intersected from north
to south by numerous rivers flowing from the Alps or
the Apennines, which unite to form one main channel,
the Po.

The Alps, as is natural from their greater mass, supplied
the larger portion of the material of the newly formed
land. Hence we find that the lowest point of the de-
pression between the two ranges, that, namely, through
which the Po takes its course, is much nearer to the
Apennines than to the Alps. It is, in fact, only in the
neighbourhood of Parma that the plain begins to extend
to any considerable distance south of the river.

This plain, level as it seems when viewed from a
church tower, or from the outlying spurs of the moun-
tains, shows, on a closer view, a certain variety of eleva-
tion. Besides the moraines, which mark the former
limits of Alpine glaciers, and which sometimes attain
the height of a thousand feet, there are several isolated
groups of hills, rising like islands above the surrounding
levels. The chief of these, the hills of Asti and Mont-
ferrat, divide the broad valley in which Turin lies from
the rest of the plain, and cause the course of the Po
to deviate considerably to the north-east. These hills
rise to a height of more than two thousand feet, and are
separated from the main chain of the Apennines by the
valley of the Tanaro.

Another isolated group, the Monti Euganei, lies south
of Padua, and rises to the height of 1,890 feet. These
hills, with the Monti Berici, near Vicenza, and the
ranges which run between this city and Verona, give
to a large part of the north-eastern corner of the penin-
sula, the former Trevisan Mark, a hilly character which
is of importance for the history of the district during the
Middle Ages.

22 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

Besides these isolated groups, the Alps, and to a less
degree the Apennines, send out foothills of lesser or
greater elevation. We have, therefore, in addition to
the Lombard plain strictly so called, a considerable tract
of hill country in which several important towns are
situated.

The great lakes which are found in this hill country
along the foot of the Alps have but small importance
for our history. On the other hand, the rivers which
flow from them, or which issue direct from the valleys
into the plain, have always, either as natural boundaries
between state and state, or as means of defence against
an enemy, played a great part in the story of Lombardy.

They are almost all tributaries of the great central
artery, the Po. Of those in the extreme east which
flow direct into the Adriatic, some such as the Reno
and Adige, have either at one time flowed into the
Po, or are closely connected with it by side branches
and canals. The chief of these rivers are, from west
to east, the Dora Baltea, Sesia, Ticino, Adda, Oglio,
Mincio, and Adige on the north, and the Tanaro,
Trebbia, Taro, Panaro, and Reno on the south of the
main river. To the north-east the Brenta and the Piave
make their way through many mouths into the Venetian
lagoons, and the Isonzo, flowing into the head of the
Adriatic Sea, divides the purely Latin lands from those
in which the Slavonian element begins to prevail.

In the earliest ages in which we hear of this region
the uncertain glimpses which history gives us of it show
it as already the seat of many great cities. In the centre
Etruscan civilisation flourished, and a league of twelve
cities, of which Felsina, the later Bologna, and Mantua
were the chief, ruled from the Apennines to the lakes.
Already Padua rose among its waters, the refuge, so
men said, of Trojan Antenor, and the Veneti, a people
of uncertain origin, held the country where the Euganean
hills looked over tiie marsh lands round the mouths of
Brenta and Adige.

Then came a wave of Celtic invaders from across the
Alps. The Veneti held their ground against them ; but

WHAT LOMBARDY IS. AND HOW MUCH 23

the Etruscan League^ with its civilisation and the cities
which were its seat, disappeared, scarcely leaving more
than a dim tradition to mark its enstence.

When next we obtain a sight of the valley of the Po
it is for the most part a Celtic land, the home of a
warlike race, pastoral rather than agricultural, dwelling
but little in cities, whose territory, covered with dense
forests and tracts of marsh land, seemed cold and savage
to the dwellers to the south of the Apennines.

Next came the Roman, who secured his hold of the
land by building walled towns, opening up great roads,
and establishing a Roman population in the midst of the
newly-conquered Gauls.

To the period of the Roman conquest belongs the
foundation of many great cities. Etruscan Felsina rose
again as Bononia; Mutina, Cremona, Placentia; later
on Parma, Regium, Dertona, Hasta, and many others
were built to serve as bulwarks of the new Power. The
centres of the Gallic tribes, Mediolanum, Comum, Per-
gamum, Brixia, grew from collections of wooden houses
to fenced cities of brick and stone. Mantua, a survival
apparently of the Etruscan power, received new life ;
wealthy Patavium and the other towns of the Veneti
welcomed the conquerors from the Tiber as friends and
kinsmen. The forests disappeared, the swamps were
drained, a multitude of cities sprang up amid rich corn-
fields and vineyards; and when the rest of Italy, exhausted
by war and by the disappearance of the smaller land*
owners, was ceasing to be a nurse of men, and was fast
becoming a land of pastures and pleasure grounds, the
valley of the Po was in all the vigour of a new life.

One of the characteristic features of the north of Italy
at the present day is the density of its population and the
number of cities it contains. As most of these centres
of population were already in existence in the days of the
later Roman Empire, and as the history of Lombardy
is before all a history of separate city-states, it will be well
here to enumerate the chief.

Their geographical position, too, is important ; their
history has often differed according as they lie in the

24 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

level plain, or are set on hills, or nestle in mountain
valleys. They may, therefore, be conveniently grouped
into classes, as cities of the plain, the hill, or the
mountain.

Beginning with the first and most important class,
we find on the west, and to the north of the Po, Vercelli
on its river, the Sesia, which descends from the spurs
of Monte Rosa. About fourteen miles to the north-east
is Novara, the territory of which in later days ran up by
the Lake of Orta to end below the Simplon range.
Thirty miles due east brings us to Milan — Mediolanum,
the "Middle City"* — ^the old capital of the Insubrian
Gauls, later on the seat of Emperors of the West, at the
time when Roman strength, though fading fast, was still
able to o£Fer a stout resistance to the barbarians, through-
out the Middle Ages the political, as it is now the intellec-
tual and commercial, centre of North Italy.

Its ri^l Pavia, the champion of the Ghibellines, lies
only twenty-two miles south of Milan, on the Ticino, not
far from its junction with the Po. Some eighteen miles
from Pavia, and twenty miles to the south-east of Milan,
is Lodi, whose name, but not whose site, brings us back
to the old Laus Pompeia which fell a victim in the year
iiii to the enmity of Milan.

Beyond the Adda is Crema, a colony from Cremona ;
and about twenty miles to the south-east we come to the
latter city, which lies on the Po, and was once the ruler
of the district between that river and the Oglio.

East of Cremona, and distant forty miles from it, lies
Mantua, surrounded by the waters of the Mincio, which
here expands into lagoons.

" Here wanton Mincius winds along the meads,
And shades his happy banks with bending reeds."

Still proceeding eastwards, we come to where " many-
domed Padua proud " stands among the winding streams
of Brenta and Bacchiglione.

This portion of Italy is broken by isolated hills.

' Of. Midh in Irehind.

WHAT LOMBAJKDT K. ASD r^rw IgTC^ X

Veram on tike r«tf?-ng A-trgg;, Vj^^naa. -ti:r7 m.-st *air
at tibc foot of the H-jc::! ficrjcu in± -ie wkJ v.ttt v
Esle at the fool of Ae Kin±ker:3nc<sr pesk it Ixt^ '1.. 11
Eaguio, senr as a racsscxix ic. ±e ^esTJin ^^^ksa^ v
Cftiesy tiiose of the t^Is; fir. -!mfii3i icr ^nKt^ir:'' z..l
towns, uach oi jTjHt isrrrrjrj ja UlI-j r -us #cr.;su>
monmafnooSy a fact iiia:a. zr^A Tstl tnr=:f>rr.r:.*:
infloenoe oo tfaesr hj&irr.

Sdll fardxr to ^ae as js T^^rryy^ -inijci z:r,*^ii ^Jir
emmierirfca ot ±e cCjas -:€ "re 5»iin icr-h ^j lr.it ^
for Udi3c 2zji A^i-Jea yckr^jsrj "jrxok rs.\ tut 'u^, 'j
the Lombard cfr:t*^ : aad i.r5ii:?i!i!i V^r::*:;?: ^.^ r, v^-n^t
in, yet she ar^it 5Ct=d Ai-nfc. vtrj^^tre: -^jtl a. x.'fr-
commcoiraes as ±e: err cf -fie «a^

the great ::**g brtsc tc z^'x^ ig?2i.rr^ r-. -iirr rt
the Adnadc s F^rraca — ^ La s^at ^j\r.:k. :>:: ?-; ' —
about Ixrj'WtvtJL axiles *-Jini if ?-^i;^ 2>,.r^:;ra-
sou J>- west :i Fgrara, -iiima n 'i^e ?>:iirL ira. li^ir r,.
the ran^ ^ '±e Are:ir:me4. i::, -jie iiinin::r v v^.r^
its termcrT esaszded.* ICviena. -n»^*rTr---i:r*3^ -n. .<: -.^
the oord^-wrsc, Sicgpi, srirsoL, an/i y^fjirTrk, «^ - -^
aloog the gxae jdrman ii^^nr^y -tie 'i'a A^n: a. * - *j
tfai'iiii'wii crrfr cf ^ae ^isin:- ^i***ri i»v-r a. ur^ ^-r^^r
of fiir> ■■ "ia" raffi craxrnrr. 5'ni4:7 ^^.i^iva:/^ a. -^^ :r ^-^^ f
of aZ djtat craet scij: ry "he l-vnnart l^tsis >^ n .- x
to rinr ■wirr' :ie passes zrrwtstx Vsno* arrt T^t^^^r.^,
and y^.^^'-xT ■■! ^Kifi tc ic#fi jr vr,»rr:x, ise i^rvxa* /v' -u,
of Le^na and 3C::fir»=3C iii^^je-v var iiir-vr:? v 1-...

XUVJt V^Tf-^ »-::/-. "I

^ :&B r> JC. jells' i^-i'- 1.- -^ ^r:^^

26 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

the upper waters of the Po and its a£Suents in the
modern Piedmont.

Turin, nowadays the most important of these, never
played a very important part in the Middle Ages, a fact
to be explained, no doubt, by the power of the feudal
lords of the Houses of Savoy and Montferrat, who held
the hill country in the neighbourhood, and to one or the
other of whom it was generally subject. The city itself
lies in the plain beside the Po, but close by, on the
opposite side of the river, the hills of the Montferrat
range rise abruptly.

Chieri, near Turin, now quite a small town, was in the
Middle Ages much more important than its neighbour.
It lies among the hills of Montferrat. Chierasco and Alba
on the Tanaro, Acqui on the Bormida, Asti on the
southern edge of the Montferrat range, Tortona and
Bobbio farther east, are all in the hill country. With the
one exception of Asti, none of them ever attained tc
much importance, or to any long-continued independenc
from outside control.

Separated from this group by the width of the Lombar
plain are Bergamo, situated on a hill at a height of 1,2^
feet atK)ve the sea, and some thirty miles north-east <
Milan, and Brescia, another thirty miles to the east
this, both where the foothills of the Alps sink do\
into the plain. Their territories in the Middle Ages r
up to the ridges of the High Alps which separate t
Italians from the German-speaking peoples.

Here, too, we must name Como, itself built on a pi<
of level ground on the shores of its lake, but surround
on all sides by steep hills, which, with semi-Alp
valleys between them, extend over almost the 'wl
district subject to the city.

To the east, in the Trevisan Mark, we have only
already mentioned Verona and Vicenza in this cla;

The cities lying well in among the mountains are
few in number and small in importance. Aosta
Ivrea, in the valley of the Doria Baltea under
shadows of Monte Rosa and Mont Blanc ; Susa, ii
deep valley leading up to the Mont C^nis ; Trent, ai

WHAT LOMBABDY IS, AND HOW MUCH 27

the mountains of South Tyrol ; Feltre and Belluno, on
the upper waters of the Piave, are all that need be
mentioned in this group.

The cities mentioned in the above sketch of the
geography of the basin of the Po are all that are of
importance for the medieval history of the district
With places such as Concordia, Altinmn, or Aquileia,
once great and flourishing, but which had either perished
utterly or sunk into obscurity under the successive
waves of barbarian invasions, the historian of the
Lombard cities has no concern.

There are, however, some names of places lying
beyond the watershed of the Po which may be added
here, to make Our list of city-states complete. The
history of Genoa is at times closely bound up with that
of Milan ; and neither geographical limits nor the events
of history mark Bologna o£F from Imola and the other
towns of Romagna, nor Ferrara from Ravenna, the town
defined for all time by Dante as the qx>t where Po
descends

" Per aver pace coi seffad soL" "

The subsequent pa^s will show the importance of a
clear conception of the geography of Lombardy. I^ere
may be pointed out the short distances from city to city,
tending inevitably to intensify hostile feelings, and the
differences in situation leading to a difference in the
political life of each. The cities in the plain were on
the whole the wealthiest and the most democratic* The
hill cities were never able thorou^y to break the power
of the feudal aristocracy whose rock-perched casdes
studded all their territCMies. Those of Piedmont could
never make head against the great feudal princes irtiose
territories of mountain and valley hemmed them in on
every side. Finally, the small mountain communities,
poor and cut off by natural obstacles from all expansion,
lived a life apart, except in so far as they followed the
fortunes of some more powerful neighbour.

' ''With an itsfoUowers in search of peace" ("Inferno").

CHAPTER II

THE RULE OP THE BISHOPS

The basin of the Po would seem to have been, during
the later days of the Roman Empire, the most flourishing
portion of the Italian peninsula. During the Republic
it had been to a certain extent a new land, offering a
virgin soil to the settler, and to the cities which he
founded a power of rapid growth, something like that
which we now associate with the western states of
America, In other parts of Italy already, in the time
of Cicero and even earlier, large estates had eaten up
the small proprietors. But this does not seem to have
been the case in Cisalpine Gaul. The Roman conquest
had meant in many provinces, notably in Samnium, the
uprooting from the soil of the previous inhabitants ; and
although Roman colonists were sent to secure the con-
quered districts, their numbers do not seem to have been
great enough to fill the gaps in the ranks of the land-
owning population caused by war and confiscation.
Hence most of the land in South and Central Italy fell
into the hands of a few great senatorial families, who
cultivated their estates by slave labour, to the ruin and
gradual extinction of the small proprietor.

North of the Apennines, however, the procedure of
the conquerors was different. The gaps caused by war
among the natives were filled by the settlement in the
conquered districts of a vast number of small proprietors.
The surviving natives were left in possession of a sufficient
share of land. This was more especially the case in the
lands south of the Po, occupied by the Senones and Boii.
In the case of the Boii half of their lands were distributed

THE BULB OF THE BISHOPS SD

to Roman colonists in 197 &c., tiie ottier half was divided
up amongst those of the former inhabitants who had
escaped the sword. It is said that the limits of the fanns
allotted to the new colonists, of ixdiich the average
extent was four or five acres, can be distinctly traced at
the present day in the neighbourhood of some of the
Emilian towns; and especially between Bologna and
Cesena in Romagna.'

North of the Po there was but little displacement of
the original inhabitants* The Insnbres, in the great
plain round Milan, kept their lands ; the Cenomani, to
the east of them, had fought on the Roman side, and
so secured themselves from all molestation. These
Celtic tribes were largely a pastoral people ; their country
was thinly peopled, covered with forests and marshes,
and therefore offered great tracts of unoccupied land
available for new settlers. That there were plenty of
such, attracted by the fertility of the virgin soil, is shown
by the rapidity with which the Celts adopted the Latin
speech and civilisation.

In the land of the Veneti there was no conquest
The natives submitted peacefully to the protecting power
of Rome. Here, with increased security, prosperity
rapidly increased. Patavium, in the days of Strabo, was,
after Rome, the richest town in Italy; and, althou^
it may be doubted whether the 120,000 men capable
of bearing arms ascribed to it by this writer should not
be taken to refer in reality to the whole levy of the
Veneti, yet this estimate shows the ideas that prevailed
as to its wealth and resources. The foundation in
B.C. 181 of Aquileia, with its 4,500 colonist feunilies, must
have still further increased the prosperity of this part
of Italy.

Moreover, Cisalpine Gaul escaped on the whole from
the disasters that befel Samnium, Etruria, and parts of
Latium during the wars of Marius and Sylla.' It is true

' Bologna, Cremona, and Piaoenza being " Latin" arfonies^ the
colonists received miK:h larger allotments, about thirty acres each.
Parma and Modeoa were colonies of Rinnan dtizcos.

« ^ek>cfa ("Bevolkenmg der griechishen-romiacfaen WelfO esti*

30 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

that the province had its share of trouble during the
conflicts that followed on the death of Caesar ; but the
misfortunes of Cremona and its unlucky neighbour
Mantua were more felt by individuals than by the cities
themselves. While Samnium was left a desert, and the
six thousand armed burghers of Praeneste were replaced
by a handful of absentee landholders, in the valley of
the Po little seems to have happened save that in some
parts a change took place in the ownership of landed
property, without any appreciable diminution of the
number of inhabitants or of holdings.

One fact is clear, the survival in this part of Italy of
a large free population, long after the growth of large
estates cultivated by slaves had diminished the number
of freemen in the other districts of the peninsula. We
learn from Pliny that, in loo A.D., the landlords of
Cisalpine Gaul still worked with free labour. And on
the whole we may consider the condition of the whole
basin of the Po in 400 a.d. as one of extreme prosperity ;
at any rate, compared with the state of the rest of Italy.'
It was looked on as one of the most important portions
of the Empire. The excellent strategic position of
Milan marked it out as the most suitable residence of
the Emperors, who strove to hold in check the ever-
increasing hosts of the barbarians ; and from 302 until
401, in which year Honorius abandoned it for the safer
residence of Ravenna, it may be looked on as for all
practical purposes the capital of the Western Empire,
of which, after Rome and Carthage, it was then the
wealthiest and most populous city.

It will be useful here to take a short survey of the
government of the valley of the Po as it was about
the year a.d. 400, before the floodgates of the barbarian
invasions had been loosed on Italy.

mates the population of Italy under Augustus at about 5^ millions,
of whom about one*third were to be found north of the Apennines
(quoted by Salvioli, ** Stato e Popolazione dell' Italia prima e dope
le Invasion! barbariche/' p. 10).

' But see Salvioli, p. 13, for a contrary view. Yet he admits that
Cisalpine Gaul was in a better condition than the rest of Italy.

THE RULE OF THE BISHOPS 31

In the rearrangement of the provinces of the Empire
effected by Diocletian and Constantine the older divisions
of Liguria, Cisalpine Gaul, and Venetia had been super-
seded by a new grouping. There was a province called
Liguria, which included not only the old territory of that
name, but all the valley of the Po as far as the Adda on
the north, and Piacenza on the south of that river. Milan
was the capital of this province, as well as being, as we
have said, one of the capitals of the Empire. North of
the Po, from the Adda to the eastern limits of Istria, was
the province of Venetia and Istria, with Aquileia as its
capital ; and south of the Po from Piacenza to Ariminum
was known as i£milia.

As was the common rule throughout the Empire, these
provinces were divided up into " civitates," that is, an
urban centre with a dependent district attached to it.
Each of these had at its head, in accordance with the
universal Roman practice, two chief magistrates, called
Duumviri, and a senate, called the Curia. Originally
these municipalities had possessed considerable local
independence. The centralising tendency of the later
Empire had, however, greatly curtailed this, and had
put nearly all power into the hands of the Provincial
governors. The functions of the decurions, as the
members of the Curia were called, had l>een practically
limited to the collection of the taxes, and to the super-
vision of the public buildings. For the collection of
the taxes they were individually responsible. If an
incursion of Iwbarians or some natural calamity made
it impossible for the city to pay the sum at which it
was assessed, the property of the decurions was seized
and sold to make up the deficiency.

As the financial condition of the Empire became
worse, as invasions became more frequent, the demands
on the decurions increased. The position from being
one of honour became an intolerable burden, from
which there was no escape. All who held a certain
amount of property were enrolled in the Curia, and
the dignity became hereditary. Vast numbers of this
class were reduced to poverty or sold as slaves to satisfy

32 THE LOMBARD COBIMUNES

the demands of the Imperial exchequer. Many sought
to escape by abandoning their property and taking
refuge in deserted places, or by entering the army or the
Church. The legislation of the later Emperors is full
of enactments relating to the forcible bringing back
of runaway decurions.

It was chiefly the moderately wealthy landowners whc
were ruined in this fashion. The great land-owninj
families had contrived to make the chief civil am
military officers of the State hereditary in their familie
and as holders of the offices .were exempt from servir
in the Curia.

City life had completely superseded the older Cell
tribal life in Cisalpine Gaul. The great landown(
usually resided within the walls, spending only a porti
of the year at one or other of the villas on their coun
estates. Part of these estates was cultivated by sla^
part was let out to a class called coloni, who make tl
appearance during the later Empire. ^^ The colo
occupied a portion of land, paying to the owner a fi
rent, the amount of which could not be raised. In na
respepts his position was a semi-servile one. He c(
not leave the land on which he was born ; if the ei
was sold he went with it ; he had scarcely any civil ri;
His sons were in the same position as himself, and 1
was practically no way by which he could attair
freedom. On the other hand, he could not be e\
from his holding. His position, in fact, close!
sembled that of the medieval serf.

No doubt, even at the opening of the fifth ce:
there were many small free proprietors in Cisalpine
some dwelling here and there in the country dij
but most of them inhabiting the towns. But \xi
elsewhere, the tendency was for the estates of the
senatorial families to absorb those of the lesser propi
Finally, within the walls were many landless fr^

* We first hear of them about the time of Conststntin
question of their origin — whether they sprang from slaves
risen, or freemen who had descended in the social scale — b
rise to much discussion.

THE BULB OF THE BISHOPS S3

some engaged in trade or manufactures, others a mere
hungry mob subsisting, like the lower orders at Rome,
on the charity of the state.

We have not to concern ourselves here with the
elaborate hierarchy of Imperial officials. We must note,
however, that the Church had adapted herself to the
Roman municipal institutions. The diocese of the
Bishop coincided with the civitas over which the
municipality ruled* The later Emperors had given the
Bishops a certain amount of civil authority. Under
the title of defensor it was the duty of the Bishop to
report on atiy oppressive acts of the governors or tax-
collectors. This recognised official status of the Bishops
is not without importance in the later history of the
cities.

Then came the great flood of the l>arbarian invasions.
The hosts of Alaric and Rhadagaesus swept over the
o(>en country without much injury to the fenced cities ;
but it was otherwise with the Tartar hordes led by Attila.
The Scourge of God levelled Aquileia to the earth, and
drove the inhabitants of Concordia, Altinum, and Pata-
vium to seek refuge among the lagoons of the Venetian
sea-coast' In the cities farther west the fate of Aquileia
inspired such terror as to prevent all resistance; and
Vicenza, Verona, Brescia, Bergamo, Milan, and Pavia,
though given up to all the horrors of pillage, were left
undestroyed, and their inhabitants escaped the sword..

But even this terrible inroad did not permanently
injure the prosperity of the valley of the Po. The
hordes of Attila passed back again beyond the Alps, and
with renewed peace the losses of the provincials were in
some measure repaired. One lasting result followed
from this raid. The fugitives from the ruined cities on
the Venetian mainland took refuge among the lagoons
which separate the firm land from the open sea ; and
from their rude huts grew in the course of ages the
mighty city of Venice whose fortunes will be so closely

' Hodgkin, » Italy and her Invaders/' vol. ii. p. 153. *\ . . Per
universas Venetianim urbes. . . . Hunni bacchabantur " (" Historia
MiaceUa" in Hodgkin).

31 THE LOMBARD COlfMUNES

intermingled with those of the republics of which we an
studying the history.

Then, twenty-four years after Attila's invasion, th
Roman Empire of the West fell, and the insignia (
Imperial rule were sent to Constantinople; while
Herulian chief, Odovacer, was proclaimed king by ti
barbarians, and received the title of ** Patrician " fro
the Eastern Emperor, Zeno.

His brief reign and his overthrow by Theodoric a
his Ostrogoths need not detain us. llie new monai
established a wise and firm rule. His residences, Raven
Pavia, and Verona, as well as his titular capital, Rome,
the effects of his protecting care. At this time Milan
still the most important city of the province of Ligi
but we see signs of the advancing greatness of its ne
hour Ticinum, better known by its later name, Pavi;
the inveterate enemy of its older rival. Its strong pos
sheltered as it was by two rivers, the Ticino and the
caused Theodoric to select it as a place of safety wh
to leave his mother and the other non-combatants o
Gothic host (490 A.D.).' When he had establishe
rule in the peninsula he built there a palace and p
baths, and it is probably to him that the city owe
strong fortifications which made it in after year
last refuge of the Gothic name in Italy.

The losses sustained by the provincials durin
strife between Theodoric and Odovacer were
made good during the settled years of the former's
It is from the troublous times which followed <
death, the re-conquest of Italy for the Eastern I
by the arms of Belisarius and Narses, and th<
descent, after a brief interval of rest, of a new and i
able invader, the Lombards, that we may date the
fall of the ancient social system of the peninsula.

The war between Goths and Byzantines lasted
twenty years.* During its course the Italians i
untold miseries. Milan was rased to the grounc
Goths, and its male inhabitants put to the s^trord

■ Hodgkin, vol. iii. pp. 220, 321. * 536—555 i

Tomb or Thiodo«ic. R«vexxa.

/ac« pa^e 34.

THE BT7LE OF THE BISHOPS 35

nmnber, if we may believe Procopius, of three hundred
thousand. This figure, though no doubt entirely too
great for credibility, gives us some idea of the impr^sion
made on Procopius by the population and importance
of the city.

The invasion, in 568, of the Lombards, the race who
have left their name to the part of Italy with which we
are concerned, is important as marking the beginning of
those political divisions of the peninsula to which an end
has been put only in our own day. Unlike the Ostrogoths,,
they did not make a thorough conquest of the land, and
even in those provinces in which they most firmly
established their power isolated cities were left which
still maintained their allegiance to the Empire. Thus the
island in the lake of Como, the Isola Comacina, held
out against the invaders until 588. Piacenza and Cre-
mona, aided no doubt by their position on the Po, which
afforded a passage to the war vessels of the Empire, were
not added to the Lombard dominions until 601-603,
long after the surrounding country had been subdued.
Ravenna and its Exarchate, which included Bologna and
Ferrara, the district along the eastern coast known as
the Pentapolis, Rome and the surrounding territories,
as well as maritime Venetia, a great part of the southern
coast, and isolated cities such as Naples and Amalfi,
remained entirely free from the new Lombard state.^
In this way Italy ceased to be one homogeneous country,
and so here we may fix the beginnings of that political
disunion and that feeling of particularism which is by
no means extinct at the present day.

More important for our history is the fact that some
cities such as Cremona were isolated for years in the
midst of their enemies. It is impossible not to believe
that this circumstance must have led to a rekindling of
military and municipal spirit and of the power of initiative
which had been lost under the centralising system of the
later Empire. We must suppose, too, that, in practice,

* Liutpraiid's conquest of Ravenna and other cities only led to
the Frank invasion and the destruction of the Lombard kingdom.

36 THE LOMBABD COMMUNES

a large amount of political power passed into the hands
of the citizens, and so we may place here the first begin-
nings of that municipal independence which will have
reached its full growth three centuries later.'

The Lombard realm fell before the power of the
Franks and their great leader Charlemagne in 774 A.D.
The new sovereign confirmed to the Popes the possession
of the territory formerly ruled by the Exarchs of Ravenna,
which his father, Pepin, had already presented to them
after he had overthrown the LfOmbards who had wrested
this district from the Byzantines. The duchy of Rome
as the country from the mouth of the Liris to a poin
near Viterbo was called, had been for about fifty year
virtually independent under the joint rule of the Pope
and the Roman people. It was now formally separate
from the Eastern Empire, and the Pope was recognise^
if not as the actual sovereign, at least as its practic
ruler. As if in retiu-n for these favours, Pope Leo III., <
Christmas Day 800 A.D., placed on Charles's head tl
Imperial diadem, and the Roman people acclaimed hi
as Emperor, the legitimate successor of Augustus.

The former dominions of the Lombards were govern
by Charles, who assumed the title of King of the Lo
bards, as a kingdom separate from his territories north
the Alps. In the districts formerly belonging to
Greek Emperors he ruled as Patrician and Emperoi
the Ronians, but delegated his power to the Ron
pontiffs. It seems quite impossible to determine v
exactly both he and Pepin meant to confer on the P<
by the famous donation of the Exarchate and other t
tories. In later days the Popes based their claim to <
plete independence on these donations ; it seems cer
however, that Charles and his successors exercised
of the rights of sovereignty at least over the city of ¥
and its neighbourhood.

■ Viliari draws attention to the words of Paulas Diaconu
mentions the part taken in a civil war between two Lombard
by the singular civitates, and notably by the citizens of V
This was shorUy before 700 a.d. {** Le Invasioni barbariclie.
See also ibid., p. 327).

Chaklshacxb.
(From ih€ patrntim^ bj Direr.)

^^pageys.

THE RULE OP THE BISHOPS 87

The powerful Lombard duchy of Beneventum in the
south, and the isolated Greek possessions round the coast
of what in later times became the kingdom of Naples,
together with the lagoons of Venetia, were the only
portions of the peninsula not brought under the rule of
the Prankish monarch.

The subsequent fate of the Carlovingian dynasty, the
endless partitions and re-partitions, the attempts, all use-
less, to set up a separate Italian kingdom under a native
sovereign, need not detain us. The interval from the
death of Charles the Great in 814 to the accession of
Otho I. of Saxony in 962 is a dreary space filled with
revolution and counter-revolution, mingled with the worse t
scourge of Hungarian and Saracen invasion. Yet all
through this period, so hopelessly black to all outward
seeming, a silent change was taking place. The germs
were being matured which were destined to blossom
forth into full life at the opening of the twelfth century.

At the end of this period we meet with a transformed
people. Instead of the degenerate provincials of the
fifth and sixth centuries, unwarlike, corrupted by luxury,
lost to all sense of liberty, ministered to by vast multitudes
of slaves, we find a hardy race of men, trained to arms,
lil)erty loving, full of energy. The infusion of Teutonic
blood had given new life to the Peninsula. New ideals
inspired men's minds. Social conditions had entirely
altered. Slavery in the Roman sense was almost dead.
The mass of the population was not, indeed, free ; but
the serf who had replaced the slave had at least some
rights, and there were many degrees of serfdom, some of
which approached nearly to full personal freedom. A
new form of speech, too, the development of the Latin
spoken by the uneducated masses of the people, was
beginning to assume a regular shape and to take rank as
a recognised language.

All these changes had l)een the result of the six
centuries of constant warfare which had followed on the
year 400. They had almost entirely altered the whole
state of society and destroyed the fabric of Roman
civilisation. In its stead we find the beginnings of the

38 THE LOMBABD COMMUNES

modern world. The most important features of the
change from the old to the new can be briefly stated.

During these centuries of war the Roman system of
administration had disappeared. Entire cities had been
blotted out ; in others the population had dwindled more
and more ; the country districts were almost uninhabited ;
vast forests and tracts of uncultivated marsh land had
replaced the cultivated fields of former ages. As law
and order vanished men were forced to depend for their
safety on their own strength.

The surviving free population of Roman origin was
concentrated within the shelter of the cities. The
country parts were left to serfs ruled over by lords for
the most part of Germanic origin. It was this infusion
of a Teutonic stock which above all awoke the Italian
peninsula to new life and vigour.

Odovacer, in common with the other barbarian leaders
who had settled in the Empire, had provided for his
followers by dividing amongst them a proportion of the
land, or rather of the revenue arising from it ; it is said a
third part. Theodoric, in his turn, distributed among
the Goths the lands before held by Odovacer's supporters,
as well, doubtless, as those which the ravages of war had
left without Roman proprietors.

The Lombards, who seem in political matters to have
treated the Italians with far more harshness than the
previous conquerors had done, followed their precedent
when dealing with the land. Many wealthy nobles were
slain and their property transferred to Lombards ; the
remaining proprietors were divided among Lombards to
whom the name "guests" was given.' The "guest"
received one-third of the revenue of the land, and it
would seem that in course of time this was altered to
one-third of the land itself, so that the original owner
now held two-thirds of his former estate, the Lombard
"guest" one-third.

The number of Roman landowners would naturally tend

' See Villari/' Le Invasioni barbarichein Italia/' p. 271-274, ^irhere
he discusses the relations of Lombards and Romans.

THE RUIiE OF THE BISHOPS 30

to diminish, for many would emigrate to the portions of
the peninsula still subject to the Byzantine rule, or be-
yond the sea. The Prankish rulers made large grants of
unoccupied or confiscated land to their followers, the
Saxon Emperors followed the same plan. In the course
of time, then, the greater part of the landed property
passed into the hands of men of German origin, so that
at a later date the name Lombards or Teutons is con-
stantly used to denote the proprietors of the country
districts. ^ Any Roman proprietors who remained would
gradually adopt the mode of life and the ideas of the
German landowners.^

In short, in the country districts, there arose a land-
owning, warlike class ruling over a subject population,
the descendants of the coloni of the late Imperial
times, or of the few Roman freemen who had not
abandoned the country for the cities.

Within these latter, on the other hand, the Roman
element continued to predominate. The Germanic
invaders on the whole preferred country life, and though
many of them, of the Lombards especially, did take up
their residence in the urban centres, it would seem that
the majority settled themselves on the lands of which
they had become proprietors. In this way the semi-
deserted rural districts received new inhabitants ; in this
way, too, the immense estates which in the late Imperial
times were characteristic of Italy, though, as we have seen,
to a less degree in the Po valley than elsewhere, were sub-
divided among new owners.

It is the opinion of Villari that the Lombards, while
depriving the subject Roman population of all political
power, did not entirely abolish the old municipal organi-
sation. This also continued to survive in the districts
under Byzantine rule. Especially did the late Roman
institution of scholse, or trade guilds in which were
enrolled all the citizens who exercised manual trades,

■ Tentonid. See Salvioli, p. 68.

* So in Ireland the Cdtic or Anglo-Norman landlords who, by
adopting Protestantismi preserved their lands, beeame completely
identified with the new English proprietors.

40 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

persist, though obscurely, to reappear at a later date as
one of the most important features of the new municipal
life.

Political power, on the other hand, was centralised in
the hands of the King and his delegates. The Lombards
set up in each important centre a Duke, who ruled over
one or more cities and their dependent territories.

As in Roman times, the civitas formed the unit of
administration. This comprised not only the walled
town — ^the city in the modern sense — but also the
country district — ^the ager dependent on it. In
Central Italy, where from the remotest times the popu-
lation had lived in walled towns, this dependent district
was not of very great extent. In Cisalpine Gaul,
colonised at a comparatively late period, and where the
urban centres were mostly of Roman origin, the extend
of territory included in the civitas was often — as in th<
cases of Pavia, Brescia, Parma, and Piacenza — ^ver
considerable, a fact that explains the great power t
which the cities of Lombardy at once attained, whe
they began to act as independent commonwealths.

The Prankish rulers did not make any very materi
changes in the Lombard institutions. Instead of t
Dukes they placed Counts with less extended powe
and as a rule having only one city subject to the
Side by side with the Count stood the Bishop ; s
largely chosen by popular election, and charged with
duty of safeguarding the rights of the people fi
possible encroachment by the Count.

In the troubled times of the downfall of the Rmpire
Bishops had acquired immense landed possessions, ei
through gifts from the monarchs wishing to obtair
support of the Church, or from private indivic
anxious to benefit their souls, or from the volui
surrender of their property by the poorer freemen,
in time of trouble found their position as tenan
the Church infinitely preferable to the risks the
freemen ran of oppression and spoliation on the
of grasping nobles. In this way the Bishops join
the prestige arising from their ecclesiastical dignity

THE BX7LE OP THE BISHOPS 41

which sprang from their being the largest landowners
in the diocese.

As the territory subject to the Count, the county as
it began to be called, coincided on the whole with the
ancient Roman civitas, so, too, it coincided with the
diocese which had also been originally marked out
by the same limits. Occasionally this was not the case.
The later Carlovingian monarchs often subdivided the
larger counties, and so we find that several were included
in the large dioceses of Milan and Pavia. So, too,
the limits of the county were sometimes modified from
those of the former civitas. These discrepancies became
a fruitful source of conflict in later times. When the
chief power in the cities had passed from the Counts to
the Bishops, and then to the hands of the burghers them-
selves, both Bishops and burghers endeavoured to bring
the whole diocese under their temporal rule, including
those portions which now formed part of another county.
The long hostility between Modena and Bologna, to
mention one striking instance, arose from the conflicting
boundaries of county and diocese. <

To secure the frontiers of the kingdom Charles
grouped several counties under a Markgraf, or Count
of the. Marches, our English marquis. So arose the
powerful Markgrafs of Ivrea, supervising the passes
between France and Italy, and those of Friuli, whose
duty it was to protect the north-eastern angle of the
peninsula against foreign invasion. Over the whole
kingdom he maintained a constant, supervision by means
of itinerant ofiicials, the missi chminici, royal messengers,
whose duty it was to report on the administration and
set right all abuses.

All this centralised system of administration perished
in the wreck of the Carlovingian Empire. The Counts
succeeded in turning into private possessions the Crown
domains which had formerly been granted to them to
enable them to support the dignity of their ofiice. Then

' So, too, arose the quarrels between Florence and Siena, and
Siena and Arezxo.

42 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

they made the office itself hereditary, and even divisible
among all their children. At the same time the system
by which the immense domains of the Crown were
parcelled out as fiefs, to be held by military service,
came into full vigour. Fiefs, at first mere temporary
beneficia^ became hereditary; the holders of royal
fiefs were granted immunity from the jurisdiction of
the Counts, and were given judicial power over their
tenants and dependents; the unity of the county was
in this way impaired.

The great allodial [H-oprietors followed the royal
example, and divided their lands among a number of
vassals, so as to have at their command a large force
capable of bearing arms. The small proprietors in
many cases surrendered their {x-operty to a more power-
ful neighbour or to the Church and received it back
as a fief, with the guarantee of protection. The Bishops
and rich abbeys divided their immense domains in the
same way. In this manner what we know as the feudal
system was gradually established in Italy.

The later Carlovingians vainly endeavoured to check
the increasing independence of the Counts and other
great lords. The most effectual means which suggested
itself for this was to transfer the jurisdiction formerly
possessed by the Count to the Bishop of the city. The
Prankish kings enjoyed an almost preponderant voice
in the election of the Bishop ; the latter from the nature
of his office was likely to be less inclined to rebellion,
and had besides no descendants to whom to endeavour
to transmit his office. The new scheme therefore com-
mended itself at once as a material increase of the royal
authority.

This movement by which the Bishops began to acquire
temporal authority over the city in which they resided
is of cardinal importance in tracing the rise of republican
institutions in Lombardy.

It seems that the earliest examples of such power being
conferred on a Bishop occur in the closing years of the
ninth century. > The substitution of the Bishops for
' Modena in 892.

THE BULB OF THE BISHOPS 43

">€ Counts was, however, a very gradual process and

®**cnded over the virhole of the tentti and a considerable

P^jjjon of the eleventh centuries.

^^ can distinguish in it three steps. First, all the

/^pcrtyot the state in the city and immediate vicinity —

(be walbs^ towers, open spaces, the royal taxes, &c« — ^was

granted to the Bishop, with rights of jurisdiction over

the tenants of tihe Church. In return the Bishop was

to provide for the upkeep of the fortifications and of

the roads and bridges. Grants of this nature are extant

for quite a numl3er of towns — ^for example, for Modena

in 892, Bergamo in 904.

The next step was the entire e£Facement of the Count
within the city. So in Parma in 962 the Bishop was
given all the powers of a Count in the city and for
three miles round, and wherever else the inhabitants
of Parma had property. The Bishop of Lodi about the
same period was given complete jurisdiction over that
dty, and for seven miles round it.' The immediate
eSect of these two steps in this new and important
movement — ^the Revolution of the Bishops, as it has
been styled — ^was the separation of the city proper from
the dependent district included in the Roman civitas.
The urban centre, and a greater or smaller extent of
territory round it, was exempted from the power of the
Count Over the rest of the old civitas he still remained
supreme. Hence the word amtado, or county, acquired
in Italian a new meaning ; it came to signify the country
districts as opposed to the town, and so to this day
contadini are the peasants as opposed to the townspeople.
The authority of the counts, now limited to the country
parts, was still farther impaired by the fact that the
possessions of the Church everywhere were exempted
from their control, and Leo estimates that already in the
time of Louis the Pious about one-third of the land of
Italy was owned by the Church. Besides, the large pro-
prietors had in general received royal '^ exemptions ''
which practically placed them on an eqiiality with the
Counts. The later Carlovingians and the kings that
■ See Hegel, vol. ii. pp. 70, for these details.

44 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

followed them appear to have multiplied counties and
marquisates; these became hereditary, and were sub-
divided among all the sons; and so we find that the
whole history of the tenth century is one of a continual
decentralisation, the separation of town from country,
and the splitting up of the latter into an infinity of small
jurisdictions.

The third step in the Revolution of the Bishops was
an attempt at reaction against this. The Bishop's rule
was extended over the whole diocese, abolishing the
Count. We find that this occurred in Vercelli in 999, in
Parma in 1035, in Bergamo in 1041. But this attempt at
restoring unity came too late. We may suppose that the
great landowners, now transformed into hereditary Counts
the Counts now from royal oflGicials become great land-
lords, were not easily brought under the rule of the
Bishops. Besides, the authority of the latter was being
undermined in the towns by the appearance of a new
factor in politics, the townsmen united in a loose muni-
cipal organisation, and led by increasing numbers and
wealth to a new position of influence in the state.

It was the rule of the Bishops that prepared the way
for municipal independence in Lombardy, and with it
we have at last reached our true subject — ^the history of
these municipalities during the brilliant period of their
activity and freedom.

Before treating of the movement by which the towns-
men won for themselves the powers possessed by the
Bishop, replacing him as he had previously replaced the
Count, it will he well to retrace our steps a little, and to
inquire into the condition of the urban population under
the Prankish rule.

Under the later Roman Empire the civilian population
was in general unarmed and untrained to war. The
Gothic conquerors seem to have maintained this dis-
armament of the subject Romans. With the advent of
the Lombards, however, we find that those cities which
remained subject to the Emperors of Constantinople were
forced to rely for their defence very much on their own
exertions.

THE BULB OP THE BISHOPS 45

The town populations were once more trained to arms
and organised as a permanent militia. Once more we
hear of the exercitus Romanus as a name equivalent for
the free population of Rome ; so too we find the militia,
or exercitus in Ravenna and other places, taking part in
public affairs.

We find in Rome and Ravenna in the eighth and ninth
centuries the free population divided into four classes :
the clergy, the optimates militiae, the milites or exercitus,
and finally the cives onesti, or populus. The second class
would be formed of the families distinguished by birth,
o£5cial rank, and wealth. The milites would include
the smaller landowners and the merchants, and the
fourth class would take in those freemen who carried on
trades or other occupations which did not allow them to
devote much time to military exercises. We see here a
foreshadowing of later times and of feudal institutions.
From the optimates came the great landowning nobles of
a subsequent epoch. From the exercitus sprang the
warlike class who, receiving fiefs in return for the
obligation to military service, formed the minor nobility
so numerous in Italy.

These two classes we find in later times distinguished
from the popolo, the commercial and working classes,
who did not make warfare their profession. These were
organised, according to their occupations, in scholar or
guilds, ruled by o£Bcials of their own, who in course of
time were dignified with the name of consul.

Finally, below these various classes of freemen, came
the great mass of the unfree, deprived of many personal
and all political rights.

Thus it would seem that the revival of a warlike spirit
among the Italians, and the l)eginning of the social
system which prevailed through the Middle Ages, are to
be traced first of all in those parts of the peninsula which
remained, up to the end of the eighth century, subject to
the Empire.

In the parts of Italy conquered by the Lombards it is
probable that the vanquished were at first prohibited from
using arms. But as in the course of time a gradual fusion

46 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

of races took place this prohibition would naturally be-
come obsolete. The Franks imposed the duty of serving
in time of war on all freemen throughout their empire,
and so, all over Italy, the free population, once unwarlike
and unarmed, became once more trained to war.

With this diffusion of a warlike spirit from the Germans
to the Provincials, the importance of the town populations
naturally increased. The distracted state of Italy in the
early tenth century added to their importance. It has
been said by some writers that the Lombards, on their
first invasion, destroyed the fortifications of the greater
part of the cities they conquered, and forbade their
restoration. But during the civil wars of the tenth
century the Hungarians, then a savage race of horsemen,
the scourge of Christian Europe, broke into the valley
of the Po, and in the distracted state of the country the
only refuge from their ravages was behind the walls of
whatever fortified towns existed. The cities, left to them-
selves for defence, hastily constructed new walls, or re-
paired those which, under the Frank rule, had fallen into
decay ; the kings encouraged the work, and soon every
town and almost every village was able to offer resistance
to an enemy. Henceforth the walled cities play a consider-
able part in the contests between the various competitors
for the crown.

So we find the towns once more fortified and filled
with a population trained to arms, t)eginning to enjoy,
under the rule of their Bishops, an existence independent
of one another, apart from the country districts, and in
great measure exempt from the direct rule of the sovereign.

The early Teutonic invaders of the Roman Empire
were averse to city life, and the bulk of them seem to
have settled down on the lands which they had acquired
in the conquered provinces. Of the Lombards, however,
as we have said already, many settled in the towns as
garrisons, or in official positions, and it is even possible
that in some places, such as Pavia, the majority of the
free population were of German origin. But most writers
are agreed that the bulk of the urban population was of
Roman blood.

THE RULE OF THB BISHOPS 47

The Frank conquest did away with the distinction
between cities held by the Byzantines and those under
the Loml>ards; differences of race, too, had been very
largely obliterated by time. With the tenth century we
find instead of the former national distinctions, the free-
men distinguished into classes, as milites and cives. The
fcMiner class was composed at first of all those freemen
distinguished by birth or landed property, then to these
were added all those who, in return for military service,
were granted fiefs by the sovereigns, great landowners,
or the Church. Thus a special class arose whose chief
business was war, and it is easy to see how the name
of milites was applied to this class, as also how it came
in time to take the meaning of our word knight

The rest of the free citizens, shopkeepers, workers in
certain handicrafts looked on as honourable, small land-
owners, are included under the name cives or arimanni.
Below these two classes we find again a great mass of
people in various stages of servitude : serfs of the King,
or the Church, or of great men. These would form the
mass of the artisan, farming, and labouring classes, and
amongst them there were very great differences of
position ; from those who were not counted as fully free
simply because they were shut out from various political
and civil rights, to real serfs bound to the soil with which
they were bought and sold.

In the eleventh century we find a further distinction
among the milites. They are divided into Capitani and
Valvassores. The former were the great allodial pro-
prietors, and all those holding fiefs from the King, and
also from the Archbishops and Bishops. The Church
was the largest landowner in North Italy, and the Bishops
had found it necessary, as they gradually acquired politi-
cal power, to portion out their domains as fiefs, in order
to have at their call a body of warriors by profession ;
the vassals of the Bishops formed therefore by far the
most numerous class. In fact, as the Capitani, or ** Cap-
tains,'' dwelling in or near the various cities were almost
all vassals of the Church, and as they figure most largely
in civic affairs, they are frequently spoken of as all holding

48 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

under the Bishops. We must remember, however, that
there were many great lords directly subject to the King.

The Captains in tiu-n parcelled out their fiefs into
smaller portions, also held on condition of military
service. These sub-vassals were known as Valvassors.

The Optimates and Milites of the former Greek posses-
sions corresponded to the Captains and Valvassors of
Lombardy, and in course of time were known by the
same name. All over North Italy we find by the eleventh
century the freemen divided into populus or cives on the
one hand and milites on the other, and the latter agaii
sulxlivided into Captains and Valvassors, who, togethe
formed the class known in later days as nobles.

There was, however, in the Italian cities, at any ra
at first, no rigid noble caste such as we find in countri
north of the Alps. Fiefs were freely bestowed on perso
not of free birth ; and in the time of Frederick Barbarot
his aristocratic historian, Otho of Freisingen, is shod
at the democratic notions of the Italians in this resp
They did not disdain, he says, to admit to the honoui
knighthood and other dignities the workers at even
contemptible mechanic arts, whom other nations exc
as one would a pestilence from the more honourable
free callings.'

All those who obtained wealth by commerce see
have been freely admitted among the milites ; we hs
fact a mixed city nobility of birth and ^wealth
formed a real aristocracy constantly recruited froi
commercial classes. In the eleventh and early t
centuries, the chief mark of this civic nobility ws
its members fought on horseback, while the mass
freemen performed their military service on foot.

The conditions in the country parts were very d
and more analogous to those prevailing in the
Europe. The population fell admost entirely it
classes, the noble landowners and their serfs.
were of course some freemen not important en
be counted among the nobles, but they ivere
gathered in groups in the small country to^
' Olho of Freisingen, cited by Hegel, voL ii. p. i^

THE RULE OF THE BISHOPS 40

villages. In the open country the poorer freemen had
almost all l)een forced to put themselves under the pro-
tection of some more powerful neighbour, giving up in
exchange a greater or less portion of their liberty:

The country nobles corresponded to the same class in
other parts of Europe. Some were descendants of the
Carlovingian Counts, others allodial proprietors, with
noble vassals holding fiefs under them, others held fiefs
from the King, others again were vassals of the Bishops,
Captains and Valvassors, whose fiefs lay at a distance
from the episcopal city. Town and country were thus
sharply contrasted, a state of things that was soon to lead
to hostility between them.

Of course in different cities different conditions pre-
vailed. In some a very large number of the Captains
and Valvassors resided in the city. In others this class
seems to have been small. To take examples from
Tuscany, Florence in its early days seems to have had
very few holders of fiefs living within its walls. Its
territory almost to the walls of the city was all 'Mn«
castled" with the strongholds of nobles having no
connection with the city, and so the early history of
Florence is one of a constant warfare with these nobles ;
the contado of Florence had to be conquered step by
step by the townsmen. In Siena, on the other hand, a
very large number of great landowning families dwelt in
the city from the earliest times, and so when the Mar-
quisate of Tuscany fell to pieces on the death of the
Countess Matilda in 1115, Siena at once appears as the
mistress of a wide domain.

It would appear that in Lombardy, where the Bishops
had obtained such very extensive possessions, and had
parcelled them out among a number of feudal vassals,
many of these usually continued to reside in the cities ;
and hence when the power passed from the Bishops unto
the hands of the leading citizens, the new city republic
found itself at once without any effort ruling over a very
large part where not the whole of the diocese.

To trace the revolution whereby power passed from
the hands of the Bishops to those of the citizens will be
the aim of the next chapter.

CHAPTER III

THE RISE OP THE COMMUNES

We must retrace our steps a little to resume the genen
political history of Italy up to the opening of the eleven!
century. On the death of Charlemagne his great empii
began to fall to pieces, and was partitioned and re-par^
tioned among his descendants. Seven of these he
power in turn in Italy. In the various partitions of \
Carlovingian dominions the peninsula had fallen to '
prince who bore the Imperial title, and in this way
view arose that the crown of the Caesars should
born by whoever was crowned with the Iron Crowi
Lombardy.

In 887 the Carlovingian Empire finally broke
The crowns of Italy and the Empire were dispute*
pretenders, great Italian nobles, or the neighboi
sovereigns of Burgundy and Provence. Nine
petitors arose and fell in the next sixty years. 'We
seen how among the effects of this confusiori \va
the Bishops increased in power, from the efiForts 0I
claimants to win them over to their side, and th
cities were now all fortified, and the citizens becorr
weight as a factor to be reckoned with by the cont
parties.

Finally, Berengar, Markgraf of Ivrea, the most
ful noble of North Italy, obtained the throne. He
to marry his son and co-regent Adalbert to Adelt
widow of his predecessor Lothair, whom he \i
pected of having murdered. The young and 1 •
widow resisted this arrangement, and is said, ii
quence, to have received the severest treatmei I
hands of her would-be father-in-law.

Henry IV., Emperor.

Otho I., Emperor ('The Great").

To jac€ page 51.

THB RISE OF THE COMMUNES 51

She escaped from her confinement in the castle of
Garda, and fled across the Lombard plain until she found
shelter in the famous castle of Canossa, in the Apennines
near Reggio. From here she sent to the German king,
Otho of Saxony, entreating his aid. He was easily won
by her message, crossed the Alps, and almost without a
blow made himself master of Berengar^s dominions.
The latter submitted, and received back his kingdom as
Otho's vassal. Otho married Adelheid and returned to
Germany. >

But Berengar's cruelty soon stirred up the Italians
against him. Otho was again called in, again easily
subdu^ the country, and in 962 was crowned king
of Italy at Milan, and soon afterwards in Rome as
Emperor.3

This crowning of Otho of Saxony as Emperor is a fact
of cardinal importance for the whole history of the
Middle Ages, only second to the revival of the Western
Empire by Charlemagne. Henceforth the principle
obtained that whoever was chosen king by the Germans
should also receive the Italian crown in Lombardy, and
be then crowned as Emperor at Rome.

^is son and grandson of the same name succeeded
Otho I. Powerful in Germany, these princes established
their authority firmly in Italy. Except for one attempt,
on the extinction of the Saxon line in 1002, we hear of
no more e£Forts to set up a separate Italian kingdom
under a native king.

The state of the valley of the Po at the opening of the
eleventh century, the period to which we have now
reached, requires some attention.

Of great lordships there remained only a few of the
Markgravates originally instituted to defend the frontiers
of the kingdom. At the north-western angle of the
peninsula a large part of the Markgravate of Ivrea
had been granted by Otho I., on the downfall of

' This was in 951 a«d.

* Pavia, Milan and Monza, all put forward claims to be the city in
which the coronation ceremony should be performed. In lator days
the contest lay between Milan and Monza.

52 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

Berengar, to the Markgrafs of Turin or of Susa, as they
are sometimes called. These territories were destined to
pass by marriage in a few years to the progenitors of the
illustrious House of Savoy, who already held large
possessions beyond the Alps as well as the county of
Aosta on the Italian side. Thus commenced the gradual
progress of this family towards the acquisition of
territories in Italy which in our day has led them to the
throne of a united Italian kingdom.

The territories thus united formed a state commanding
the chief passes leading towards France, too important to
be interfered with by the Emperor, and containing, with
the exception of Turin, Ivrea, and Chieri, no cities likeb
to give trouble by claims of independence.

The hill country between the upper waters of the P
and those of the Tanaro was held by the Markgrafs c
Montferrat, and south of this the mountainous regie
as far as the sea coast was under various Markgrafs
Counts, of which the most important were those
Saluzzo and Savona.

In all this hilly region the towns were small. A
alone was of any importance, and under its Bishop ^
free from feudal control. We find in fact that in t
part of Italy now known as Piedmont the towns, enclc
as they were among hills, never attained to tn
importance, and that the feudal sovereignties 1
maintained their ground against the municipal ii
tutions of the rest of the Po valley.

The north-eastern angle of Italy formed in Carlovin
times the Markgravate of Friuli. This corner of
Peninsula is the most exposed to a foreign invader
through it had passed most of the barbarian hosts v
various invasions we have already mentioned. T<
east the Pass of the Pear Tree led out to the linn
civilisation and Christianity, where Slavs and Ma
and more barbarous tribes still filled in a cor
welter all the lower valley of the Danube. Krc
north-western angle the Brenner opened out a v
Germany. This pass, the lowest of all the great
across the Alps, is singularly free from i

THE RISE OF THE COMMUNES 53

difficulties^ and has at all times afforded an easy com-
munication with the valley of the Inn and the upper
waters of the Danube. But though the road was easy
the valley through which it runs is at certain points,
notably at the famous defile, the '* Chiuse " of Verona, so
narrow as to be easily blocked against invaders by a
handful of resolute defenders. The city of Verona,
commanding the outlet from this defile, has therefore
been at all times a place of the utmost strategic
importance.

To the new German sovereigns the firm possession of
this city and the adjoining territory must have been a
matter of supreme concern. We find, therefore, that the
first Otho took special measures with regard to this
district. The Patriarchs of Aquileia had acquired a large
jurisdiction in that eastern portion to which the name
Friuli is now limited. The rest of the Mark, with
Verona as capital, was now separated from the Italian
kingdom, and joined under the name of the Mark of
Verona to the German duchy of Bavaria. The Bishops
of Padua and other cities received exemptions from the
power of the Markgrafs, but in Verona itself, and no
doubt in most of the district, the power of the Bavarian
ruler was not interfered with by episcopal privileges.'

The owner of the Castle of Canossa, Albert Azzo, had
received from Otho, as a reward for the shelter he had
given to Adelheid, the counties of Modena and Reggio,
those parts, namely, of those civitates which had not
passed to the Bishops of the two cities. These
possessions were further increased by the acquisition of
the cities of Mantua and Ferrara, the latter as a fief of
the Archbishops of Ravenna. The territory of Brescia
seems also to have come into the hands of Albert Azzo's
son and successor, Thedald. These large territories gave
Albert Azzo's descendants a position among the greatest
of Italian lords. The acquisition in the next generation
of ttie immense dominions of the Markgrafs of Tuscany
gave to this house the predominant position in Italy, and
it rose to the highest point of dignity and power in the
' Leo, p. 328-329.

54 THE LOMBARD OOMBfUNES

person of its last representative, Matilda, the ''Great
Countess/' as she was called, the intrepid defender of the
Papacy in the War of Investitures.

In addition to these great lordships there ms an
immense number of smaller potentates, descendants of
Counts, who had turned portions of their counties into
fiefs, large allodial landowners who had acquired all the
rights of Cx)unts in their possessions, holders of &efs
directly from the Crown. Among them we need only
mention the family from which sprang the royal House
of Guelf and the famous Marquises of Este. The^
possessed immense domains scattered all over Nortl
Italy, from Genoa to the mouths of the Po ; in late
days their chief fiefs lay round Este among the Eug;
nean hills and the neighbouring marshy district of tl
Polesine.

The cities were, as we have seen, almost all under t
rule of the Bishop as Count. His power extended o^
the country districts to a greater or less degree, acco
ing to Imperial grants.

Curiously enough, the Archbishops of Milan, by far
richest and most powerful prelates in Lombardy, do
seem to have acquired a legal right to the governmer
their city as early as some of their suffragans.' F
tically, however, their authority overshadowed that o
Count, and we soon find them acting in all thin^
temporal rulers of the city.

The century from looo A.D.to iioo a.d. is the e
in which the cities of Lombardy took the last ste
full municipal freedom. Unfortunately our inf ortr
regarding the various stages in this great movemen
the scantiest. We know the general history of the
but of the course of the revolution, for so ^ve must
by which the cities emancipated themselves fro:
temporal rule of the Bishops we know scarcely an^

■ Hegel, vol. ii p. 77-78 and p. 142. According to Hoixf a^
Estensi were Ck)unts of Milan until the revolt of Ar<luii
"Vita Italiana"). According to Lanzani the Archbishop ^
Count soon after 978 (p. 126), but only of city and for thr
round.

THE RISE OF THE COMMUNES 55

All we can say is that, at the opening of the eleventh
century, the bishops exercised in the cities the authority
which had formerly been vested in the Counts ; at its
close the cities have reduced the prelates to insignifi-
cance, and stand before us as so many free repubUcs. A
German historian has figured with poetic imagery the
transformation of Italian institutions during this century :
*' The power of the Bishops was the calyx which for a
certain time had kept the flower of Italian life dose-
packed within the bud. Then the caiyx weakened and
opened and Italian civic life unfolded itself to the eye
to form and bear fruit." «

We may go farther and say that as what was a bud at
eventide appears to us next morning as an open flower,
but the processes of the change have escaped our view,
so it is with the blossoming of repubUcan freedom in Italy.
At such a date it was not, at a later period it is : the steps
in the change are hidden from us.

We must content ourselves, then, with tracing the main
events in the history of the eleventh century ; and we
shall deal more especially with Milan, the most important
of our cities, of whose history we luckily possess some-
what ample details.

The Saxon line came to an end in ioo2.' Thou^ most
of the Italians had grown accustomed to German rule,
yet there were not wanting turbulent spirits, amongst
them Arduin, the powerfid Markgraf of Ivrea, who
refused to acknowledge Henry of Franconia, the newly
chosen German king. Arduin took the title of King,
and established himself for a short time between the
Alps and the Apennines.

The mere appearance of Henry II. south of the Alps
caused most of Lombardy to declare in his favour,
and entering P^via without opposition he there received
the crown. But during the festivities a quarrel arose
between the burghers and the Germans of Henry's suite.
His army, which was encamped outside the walls, pressed
into the town to rescue their master, and cleared for

* Leo, ToL L p. 417.

' To Uie Saxon liae succeeded the Fraoconian or Salian line.

56 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

themselves a road by setting fire to the houses. The
whole city was destroyed, and no doubt plundered, and
so originated a deadly enmity between Pavia and the
Germans.

Hostilities of a sort went on for some years between
Henry and Arduin, until the latter, despairing of success,
retired to a monastery. It is at this period that historians
place the first open warfare between Pavia and Milan.
This marks at once the increasing independence of the
cities and the commencement of that long and deadly
enmity between the two rivals whose hatred to om
another influences the whole subsequent history of th
Lombard republics.

Pavia, the ancient Ticinum, lies on the River Ticin
a few miles above its junction with the Po, a positic
which gives it easy water communication for a considc
able distance above the city, as well as downwards to t
sea. Its strategic importance was in those days consld
able, for it is the point to which all the roads fn
France over the Alpine passes naturally converge.*
late Roman times the ordinary route from Gaul to Ro
seems to have led first to Pavia, from which the jour
was continued either by water to Ravenna, and then g
the central Apennines by the Via Plaminia, or else dire
south over the pass at Pontremoli. These advant:
of site caused the Goths to make it one of their c
strongholds; it was strongly fortified by them, an<
later times the Lombards, who only took it aft
siege of three years, established there their capital.

The territory dependent on the city was exterisivi
of extreme fertility. On this account Pavia becam
centre of a landowning aristocracy. Since it -was
seat of government under the Lombards and the F
it naturally became the residence of a large ofiBcial
in this way the city, of which the majority of the it
tants were very probably of Teutonic origin, recei

' The chief roads from France to Italy were from Vienne t
the Tarentaise and over the Little St Bernard to Aosta, or e I
Brian^on over Mont Genevre to Susa.

THE raSE OF THE COMMUNES 57

markedly aristocratic character, which is plainly evident
in its later history.

Its situation, moreover, was eminently suited for com-
merce, and we also find a considerable manufacturing
element among the population. Against its natural
advantages can only be set that the air is foggy, and
is said to be less invigorating than in the adjacent cities.
Such, in fine, was the prosperity of Pavia that although
it was sacked by the Hungarians in 924 — it is said only
two hundred citizens escaped from the massacre — yet
forty years later the writer Liutprand calls it the richest
and fairest of Italian cities, second only by a little to
Rome itself.

Milan, the Roman, as Pavia was the Lombard, capital
of North Italy, is an example of a city which has always
ranked among the very greatest, without there being
at first sight any evident reason for such predominance.

It lies in an open plain with no natural advantages
for defence, near no navigable river, and in a district
surpassed in fertility by many other parts of Lombardy.
Yet it always appears as a large and wealthy city, and
in our own day is not unworthy to be called the
Manchester of Italy. The secret of its importance may
perhaps be found in its central position in the great
plain between Alps and Apennines, and in its situation
with regard to the passes leading north over the former
chain into Germany. The roads most used by the
Romans over the S^ptimer and Splugen passes, as well
as the more modern routes by the Gothard and the
Simplon, naturally start from Milan, and it affords perhaps
the best point from which an army can strike at any
invader from beyond the Alps. The later Roman
Emperors fixed there their residence on this account ;
the Church made it the ecclesiastical centre of North
Italy, and the virtues of Saint Ambrose gave to the
see a position in the peninsula inferior only to Rome
and Ravenna.

The city preserved its importance through all the
barbarian invasions ; even the slaughter of its population
by the Goths was only a temporary blow. Here the

58 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

Roman element persisted, strong in the shelter of the
Churchy and as it was naturally in a most favourable
position for trade with Germany it became a centre
of commerce and manufactures. Hence while Pavia was
Lombard and aristocratic, we find a more democratic
element prevailing in Milan.

It was only natural that jealousy should arise between
two cities so near one another, each having claims to
be considered the metropolis of Lombardy. The contest
between Henry II. and Arduin gave the first pretext
for open hostilities ; with increasing independence came
increased chances of satisfying the mutual hatred, and
between 1013 and 1150 we find a chronic state of enmib
between the rivals with six actual wars.

With increased intercourse with Germany, and undc
the peaceful rule of the Saxon Emperors, Milan rapid!
increased in wealth. At the opening of the eleveni
century it is said that the city and the adjoinii
ecclesiastical domains numbered three hundred thousai
inhabitants.'

Its Archbishop was the wealthiest and most influeni
of the Lombard prelates, and in the early years of
eleventh century the see of St Ambrose was occup
by a really great man capable of the highest flights
ambition, and with all the qualities necessary to ie
him the arbiter of affairs in Italy. Aribert, a men
of an influential family of Capitani, was chosen A
bishop of Milan in 1018. A few years later the £01^
Henry II. died. The inhabitants of Pavia, mindfi
his former severity towards their city, rose in insurre
on the news of his death, destroyed the royal palace
endeavoured to persuade the King of France, an
his refusal, the Duke of Aquitaine, to come and
possession of the crown of Italy. Their efforts
unsuccessful, and Aribert proceeding to Germany a
the new King, Conrad the Salic, of the obediei;
Milan and the greater part of Lombardy. Conra<;
came into Italy ; and, since Pavia refused to op !
gates to him, he received the Iron Crown in
' Lanzani, p. 136.

THE BIBE OF THE COMMUNES 59

It is probably from this time that the custom grew
up that the King of Italy should be crowned at Milan
or in the neighbouring town of Monza.

Conrad failed to take Pavia, and had to content himself
with laying waste its territory, a task in which no doubt
he had the hearty co-(^)eration of the Milanese. After
hostilities had lasted a considerable time Pavia submitted,
and Conrad returned to Germany, leaving Aribert as his
representative in Italy. To reward his services the King
gave him the right of investiture over the bishopric of
Lodi. This meant that the future Bishops of that city
were no longer to seek confirmation of their election
from the King, but from the Archbishop. In those days
the Bishops and their flocks were united in the closest
union. Episcopal elections were still made by the
clergy and leading citizens ; the Kings then confirmed
the election and gave the new Bishop possession of^
the lands of the see. The Carlovingians and their
immediate successors had turned this right of confirma-
tion into one of nomination, but the increasing power of
the cities had made the later Emperors chary of abusing
this right This grant to a neighbouring prdate, who
would be backed up in asserting his rights by his flock,
seemed then to the citizens of Lodi a grievous infringe-
ment of their privil^es, and excited in their minds a
deadly hatred against Milan. In a few years this feehng
burst into flame when, on the death of the Bishop of
Lodi, Aribert attempted to interfere in the election of his
successor. The Lodesans took up arms against him, the
Milanese supported their pastor, and laid si^e to the
recalcitrant city. Aribert, who, we are told, at this time
"disposed of the whole kingdom at his nod," proved too
strong for his opponents, and forced Lodi unwillingly to
submit to his demands. Henceforth, as between Pavia
and Milan, so too between the latter and Lodi we find
constant hostilities.

To the enemies of Milan were soon to be added
Cremona, provoked by aggressions on Ariberf s part, and
Como, to whose Bishops the counties of Bellinzona,
Misocco, and Chiavenna had been granted by the

60 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

Emperors. These grants had given to the Bishop and
people of Como control over the trade routes between
Milan and Germany, and it is easy to see how this would
lead to quarrels over rights of transit and dues, which
finally broke out into open warfare.

While Milan and its Archbishop were thus by thevT
growing power and pretensions exciting the fears and
hatred of their neighbours, dissensions broke out in the
city itself which mark a step on the road to its emanci-
pation from episcopal rule. The lower vassals, the Valvas-
sors, had long been striving to make their fiefs hereditary
The Captains opposed this, discontent grew, until finally
on a Vsdvassor being deprived of his fief, the others fle^
to arms and attacked the Captains.^ Aribert joined th
latter, and the Valvassors had to leave the city. In th
country they received a great accession of strength. N«
only were they joined by the Valvassors of the northei
parts of the Archdiocese — ^the counties of Seprio ai
Martesana — but the free nobles of these parts, who fear
the encroachments of Aribert, as well as the inhabitai
of Lodi, united with them in the hope of checking
increasing power of Milan.

The two parties met in battle at the Evil Field betw
Lodi and Milan. The battle was indecisive, but
Bishop of Asti, who had come to the help of Aribert,
and his death caused the party of the Valvassors to c
the victory. It would seem that the conflict spread i
Milan and Lodi all over Lombardy. On the one
were the Valvassors and those nobles who were
vassals of the Bishops, on the other the prelates an
Captains.

Aribert appealed to the Emperor for help, ^nd C
came with a large army to restore peace. It vrould
that he had become jealous of the great power of A
or else was persuaded of the justice of the dema
the Valvassors ; at any rate, instead of helpir
Archbishop he showed himself inclined to supp<
opposite faction. Some inkling of Conrad's viei;
got abroad among the populace, and a rumour spre

"A.D. 1035.

THE RISE OF THE COMMUNEB 61

the grant of the Investiture of Lodi was to be revoked.
Indifferent as the mass of the citizens might be to the
quarrels between the nobles, they looked on a diminution
of the privileges of the Archbishop as an insult to them-
selves. The very day after Conrad's entry a fearful
tumult broke out in Milan, with threats against the
person of the Emperor. The German forces were
helpless, scattered through the populous city, and Conrad
was forced to yield to the demands of the mob that he
and his followers should at once quit the town* Taking
a sudden resolution he marched to Pavia. Hostile as the
ptople of this city had been to the Germans, their hatred
of the Milanese was so great that the mere fact that these
had attacked the Emperor converted them to fervent
loyalty. Conrad established himself in Pavia, and b^an
to set in order the affairs of Lombardy.

This sudden conversion of Pavia to the Imperial
interests proved lasting. Henceforth throu^ good or
evil fortune this city was the firmest upholder of the
German interests in Italy. No doubt at first this was
from purely selfish motives, as a means of resistance to
the increasing power of Milan. But the Emperors of the
House of Hohenstaufen seem to have aroused among the
citizens a feeling of romantic loyalty that will compare
with anything to be met with among those nations north
of the Alps who prided themselves on their chivalrous
devotion to their sovereigns.

Conrad, fully detomined to punish the Milanese for
their sedition, assembled the Italian vassals at Pavia, and
on Ariberf s appearance had him thrown into prison.
This step exasperated the Milanese beyond measure, and
seems quite to have put an end to the dissensions
between Captains and Valvassors. After a short captivity
Aribert escaped by plying his gaolers with the heady
vintage of Lombardy until they sank into a drunken sleep.
Conrad now attempted to reduce Milan by force of arms,
but his army was weakened by sickness, and the walls,
strengthened, it is said, by three hundred towers, enabled
the citizens to beat off his attacks. The Emperor invoked
the aid of the Pope, who deposed and excommunicated

62 THE LOMBABD COMMUNES

Aribert, without making the slightest impression on him
or his supporters. Conrad also sought to weaken the
power of Aribert and his supporters by promulgating a
law by which all fiefs were made hereditary, and which
thus established the principle for which the Valvassors
had been contending.' This law was a serious blow to
the influence of the Bishops and the Captains through-
out Lombardy. For the moment, however, it was of no
effect against Milan. Aribert, strong in the affection of
his flock, was still able to maintain unity in the city and
to defy his sovereign. Events in Germany demanded
Conrad's presence in that country, and he was forced to
depart, leaving Milan still unsubdued. Before his
departure, however, he caused all his partisans to swear
to lay waste the territory of the disobedient city once a
year, an oath which we may guess was taken with alacrity
by the burghers of Pavia and Lodi. Aribert was not
behindhand in measures for defence. He armed and
disciplined all classes of the citizens, and to form a rally-
ing-point for his new military organisation he invented a
singular device which was afterwards copied by all the
Italian municipalities. On a strong wagon a mast was
erected, from the top of which floated a banner. At its
base was an altar ; the wagon itself was hung with
scarlet doth, and drawn by white oxen selected for their
size and beauty. The name of Carroccio was given to
this machine ; it was to serve as the centre of the army ;
around it the bravest warriors were stationed ; on it \
priests stood to invoke the blessing of heaven on the |
soldiers, and to abandon it to the enemy was looked on I
as the. extreme of disgrace.

With such new institutions Milan prepared to face her
enemies, when the news of Conrad's death arrived, and
at once put an end to hostilities.^ This bold defiance of
the Emperor clearly shows that the spirit of resistance to I
external authority had taken root among the Milanese, j

' In future no vassal of the Bishops, Counts, 6tc., was to loose his |
fief except when convicted of crime by the judgment of his peers. ,
(Leo, p. 396, and Hegel, p. 148, vol. ii.). ,

■A.D. 1039. I

THE BISB OF THE COMMUNES 63

The people, united ander their Pastor, had successfully
opposed their sovereign. A few years later a farther step
was taken on the road to independence, this time directed
towards weakening the power of the Archbishop.

A Valvassor illtreated a Plebeian — ^that is to say, a free
citizen of the non-noble class. The mass of the citizens,
who had no doubt become conscious of their strength
during the war against the Emperor, took up arms
against the insolence of the nobles, and a desperate civil
contest began in the very streets of the city. The nobles
were strong in their warlike training, their horses and
armour, above all in the fortress-like dwellings which
they had already begun to erect. The people had in
flieir favour an immense superiority in numbers, but they
lacked the cohesion which can only be given by a
vigorous leader. They found such a one among the
ranks of their adversaries. A certain Lanzone, a
'^ Captain" holding high judicial functions, abandoned
his fellows, and either from personal ambition or led by
a genuine feeling of sympathy with their cause, joined
himself with the popular party. He was chosen as
leader, and so skilfully did he direct the people that the
nobles, greater and lesser, were forced to abandon the
city. With them went the great Archbishop, who in this
contest only figures, and in vain, as a peacemaker, and
thus he disappears from our view. He had once
disposed of the whole kingdom at his nod, he now, in
his closing years, saw himself unheeded among the
contending factions from whose strife the municipal
liberty of Milan was to spring.

The nobles thus expelled maintained themselves in
their castles in the country, and were joined by all the
feudal element in the counties of Seprio and Martesana.'
The burghers were unable to hold the open field against
their well-armed adversaries, and the nobles set them-
selves to cut off the city from all intercourse with the
country parts, hoping thus to reduce it by famine. To
this end they erected a strong castle before each of the

' These counties formed the northern portion of the diocese of
Milan.

64 THE LOMBABD COMMUNES

six city gates, and for three years persisted in this block-
ade. During this period the besieged citizens, since the
legal authority was in exile, must have governed them-
selves by elected rulers, so here we may well put the first
appearance of republican institutions in Milan.

To put an end to the struggle Lanzone, at the end of
three years, went to Germany to the new king, Henry III-,
and worked so well on him that he obtained from him a
promise of four thousand horsemen. Returning to Milan
with the news of the approaching aid, he seems to have
reflected that in thus calling in German soldiers he was
exposing his country to unknown risks, and therefore he
opened negotiations with the nobles, laying stress on the
approach of the German forces. The nobles were in-
clined to an accommodation ; and so a pacification was
brought about. The nobles returned, and it would seem
that the government of the city * was entirely remodelled.
The people had learned that they could rule themselves
without the Archbishop ; the authority of the latter was
now much diminished, and the direction of affairs passed
from his hands to those of the freemen, whether Captains,
Valvassors, or simple burghers. According to Bonfadini
the new constitution was ratified by the Emperor in 1055
at the general assembly of the Italian kingdom in the
plain of Roncaglia, and was published in the statutes of
the city in 1066. From this epoch, therefore, he dates
the origin of the Commune of Milan.

The succeeding half-century is memorable in the
history of Europe for the struggle between Pope and
Emperor on the subject of Investitures. The Prankish
kings had, as we have said, exercised the right of con-
firming the election of the Bishops chosen by the clergy
and people. As the Bishops, by grants from the
sovereign, grew into great public officials and feudal
lords of vast territories, the kings were naturally led to
pay more and more attention to the suitableness from
their point of view of the persons thus elected.

On the death of a Bishop his rights of jurisdiction in
public matters naturally fell back to the Crown, so did

* Bonfadini, p. 100, for this, but he does not state his authority.

THE RISE OF THE COMMUNES 65

his fiefs, and the new Bishop had to seek from the
monarch a re-grant of the rights enjoyed by his pre-
decessor. These temporal rights were conferred on the
new prelate by the bestowal of a ring and a staff, the
symbols of his jurisdiction. Without this " Investiture,"
as it was called, the person chosen by clergy and people
was not entitled to take possession of his see.

It is easy to see that the sovereigns were tempted to
turn their right of confirmation into one of nomination.
They would inform the electors that they would refuse
Investiture to all except the candidate they themselves
favoured ; in this way the electors were left no choice
but to give their votes to the person designated by the
King. Under the later Carlovingians, and above all in
the anarchy of the tenth century, we find the monarchs
disposing at pleasure of the sees of Lombardy, conferring
them as a reward for political services on the most un-
worthy persons, and reducing the Church to a state of
the greatest degradation. In the early eleventh century
the increasing power of the cities somewhat checked this
state of affairs in Lombardy ; at any rate, the Saxon and
early Pranconian monarchs seem to have avoided appoint-
ing Bishops against the will of the clergy and citizens.
In Germany there was no such check, and under the
third and fourth Henrys the dignities of the Church were
looked on merely as affording a provision for the friends
and kinsmen of the ruler, or as a means of raising money
by their sale to the highest bidder. The German annalists
of this period give lurid descriptions of the manner in
which the Church was degraded by this state of affairs.
The most unsuitable, the most shameless persons filled the
highest spiritual offices, looking on them merely as a
means for extorting money from the lower clergy or the
people, and for gratifying their own desires of luxury
and ambition. The very excess of the abuse brought
about a reaction. A succession of zealous Popes aided
by popular feeling set themselves steadily to the task of
rooting out simony and restoring purity of morals among
prelates and clergy.
To attain this end two things, as the German his-

66 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

torian Leo points out, were absolutely necessary. First
the Papacy must be made independent of the En^pire, so
as to be able to act as an independent judge in all cases
of suspected simony, and then to put this judgement into
execution; secondly, the mass of the clergy must be
turned aside from seeking the advancement of them-
selves and their families through concessions of feudal
benefices, and this could only be brought about by the
establishment of a celibate priesthood.

The attempt to carry out these reforms met, as was
natural, with obstinate resistance. Stringent decrees
were passed against simony and the marriage of the
clergy by the five Popes who from 1048 to 1073 followed
one another on the chair of Peter. During these years
the guiding spirit of the movement for reform was the
famous Hildebrand, sub-deacon of the Roman Church,
who in 1073 himself succeeded to the Papacy under the
title of Gregory VII.

The struggle in Italy centred round Milan. Here,
on the death of Aribert, four candidates to the Arch-
bishopric appealed to the suffrages of clergy and people.
They were all of noble birth, belonging apparently to the
Captains ; for since the prelates had become great
temporal lords, the high nobility looked on theepiscopal
dignity as by right belonging only to their class. The
Emperor, however, apparently fearing that a member of
the high nobility in the see of St. Ambrose might be
tempted by Aribert's example to set himself in opposi-
tion to the sovereign, forced on the city a certain Guido,
a man of low origin, who might be expected to be
thoroughly devoted to his interests. . Clergy and nobles
were incensed by this appointment ; the former on one
occasion, to show that they did not recognise Guido as
lawful Archbishop, left him alone at the altar in the midst
of some public function. A man of immoral life himself,
Guido soon won the higher clergy over to his side by
condoning their vices, and through their means he found
supporters among the families from which they had
sprung.

Three of the defeated candidates maintained their

Pkoto.2

GsEGOsr VII.
(From the Stamxe of Rapfuul.,

'Ahnan.

Ji< page 66.

THE RISE OF THE COMMUNES 67

opposition, led le$s, it would seem, by disappointed am-
bition than by a pure zeal for the reform of the Church.
They declared that Guido had obtained his position by
simony, and invoked against him the lately published Papal
decrees ; they inveighed against his way of life and that
of his supporters, declaring that the clergy should offer to
their flocks an example of temperance and chastity. The
mass of the people, disgusted by the scandalous lives of
the clergy, eagerly embraced these views ; the reformers
had also the support of their own connections among
the nobility.

We see now in Milan, and indeed in all Lombardy, a
curious struggle entered into by the people with the
support of Rome against the vices of the clergy. The
latter were supported not only by Guido but by many of
the other Lombard prelates, who, like him, had obtained
their sees by doubtful means or were of immoral life.
The Milanese clergy pleaded that St. Ambrose had
allowed to the Milanese priesthood the privilege of
marrying ; old custom seems to have sanctioned over a
large part of Europe that where the priests did not
marry they might have concubines, wives in all but the
name ; among the laity were many who held that this
state of affairs should not be interfered with.

The city was therefore filled with confusion. The
leaders of the Papal party stirred up the mob to attack
the non-celibate clergy. Their houses were sacked, their
wives and concubines beaten, they themselves forced to
flight. Both parties appealed to Rome, and Landulph
and Ariald, leaders of the Papal party, were excommuni-
cated by Guido and an assembly of Lombard Bishops.
The Pope, however, caused this sentence to be annulled,
and forced Guido and his supporters to confess them-
selves in the wrong. A temporary pacification followed,
and Guido was acknowledged as Archbishop by the Pope.
Ariald and Landulph were by no means satisfied with the
leniency shown by the Pope in this affair. He aimed at
introducing reform gradually, and refused to proceed to
extremities against those who, after all, were only follow-
ing the customs of a former generation ; they demanded

68 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

a thoroughgoing change, and the rooting out of all
unchaste or simoniacal priests. The struggle broke out
anew and with ferocity. Landulph was fallen upon in
Piacenza by the clerical party of that city, and so ill-
treated that he soon afterwards died. His death brought
into the field a still more formidable champion of reform,
his brother Herlembald, a man of great daring and politi-
cal capacity ; Ariald was still unwearying in his efforts,
and at this very period the third of the leaders of this
party, Anselm, became Pope under the name of
Alexander II.

The conflict had spread over the greater part of
Lombardy. Pavia and Asti had refused to acknowledge
the Bishops set over them by the King ; in Vcrcelli and
Piacenza the Bishops living in concubinage maintainec
themselves against the populace. In an interval of tran
quillity in Milan Archbishop Guido led his forces again;
the Pavesans and utterly overthrew them at the battle c
the "Field of Death." But Herlembald and Arial
backed by the new Pope, again took up their campai|
against Guido and the married clergy. The former 1
his eloquence gathered round him a band of followe
young men of the upper and middle classes, who went
far as to drag from the altars the offending clerics wl:
they attempted to celebrate the Divine offices. 1
Archbishop himself did not escape ; he was set on
church, and almost slain ; his palace, too, was plunde
This outrage, which seems chiefly to have been the v
of the peasants who had flocked into the city for Pc
cost, caused a reaction in Guido's favour. His suppo
gained the upper hand for a time, and seizing Ariald,
cut off his ears and nose, tore out his tongue, bli
him, and tortured him till he died. This aroused He
bald and his party to new efforts ; Guido ^vas fore
leave the city, and the reformers laid waste the hou
his partisans. Herlembald now acted as the "i;
master of Milan, without the least regard to the ri^ ;
the Archbishop. Weary of the strife, Guido resigr (
dignity in favour of one of his supporters named Gt
who received investiture from the King, but -w^h*

THE RISE OF THE COMMUNES 60

Milanese entirely refused to recognise. > The govern-
ment of the city was carried on by Herlembald and a
Council of thirty of his partisans, and from this date we
may definitely date the emancipation of Milan from the
rule of the Archbishop.

Guido soon repented of his resignation^ and opened
negotiations with Herlembald so that he might return to
the city. Peace was made; but on Guide's entering
Milan he was seized and thrown into prison, where he
soon after died. Herlembald and his followers besieged
Godfrey in Castiglione, and in union with the Pope set
about the choice of a new Archbishop. The people,
supporters as they had been of the Papacy in its efiForts
to reform the moiuls of the clergy, were not at all inclined
to accept the direct interference of Rome in the affairs of
the see* When Herlembald and the Papal Legate used
every means to secure the election of a certain Atto, the
larger number of the citizens, angry at their procedure,
opposed an armed resistance, ill-used both Legate and
new Archbishop, and forced the latter to swear to
renounce his dignity. Next day Herlembald gained the
upper hand, but Atto seems to have had a sufficient
experience of his diocese, and, though recognised as
lawful Archbishop by the Pope and Herlembald, to have
taken up his residence in Rome. Herlembald's govern-
ment soon raised up for him many enemies. He required
every priest to prove by the oaths of twelve men that he
had never had unlawful intercourse with women, and all
such as could not pass this test were expelled from their
functions, and their goods confiscated. By this means
Herlembald was able for a time to support an armed
force sufficient to maintain his rule. But such rule was
in its nature illegal and oppressive, and above all offensive
to the greater nobles. A new conflict broke out in which
Herlembald obtained a complete victory. But his oppo-
nents were now too numerous to be put down by one
defeat. In 1075 disorders again arose ; the factions came
to a pitched battle, in which Herlembald was defeated
and slain.

' JLD. 1068.

70 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

In this very year Hildebrand, now Pope, renewed in
a Council at Rome the former decrees forbidding simony
and the marriage of the clergy, excommunicated several
of the German courtiers who carried on a regular traffic
in Church dignities, and finally took the last step towards
freeing the Church from the royal influence by promul-
gating the famous decree which forbade all Bishops to
receive investiture by ring and staflF.

This startling innovation plunged the Papacy into open
conflict with the Emperor Henry IV. For fifty years
under this Emperor and bis son, Henry V., all Germany
and Italy were convulsed by the struggle which followed.
The disorders which had for nearly thirty years vexed
Milan and Lombardy were now merged in a strife
involving nearly all Europe.

The party which had defeated Herlembald had sworn
to accept no Archbishop except one appointed by the
Emperor. He nominated Thedald, a Milanese noble-
man, and as Godfrey and Atto were still alive there were
now three claimants to the see of St. Ambrose. The net
result was the destruction of the Archiepiscopal power.
Each claimant was lavish in grants to the people of the
rights formerly possessed by the Archbishop, thus giving
a legal sanction to what the citizens had already won for
themselves.

Though Herlembald had perished, the cause for which
he had fought triumphed. Thedald, who in the quarrel
between Pope and Emperor had naturally sided with the
latter, could only maintain himself for a year ; the Papal
party then gained the upper hand, and Thedald was left
in possession only of some of the country districts, while
the city governed itself.

The chief importance, in fact, of the War of Investitures
in Lombard history is that it gave the cities an opportunity
to emancipate themselves wholly from the rule of the
Bishops, and to take up a very independent attitude
towards the Emperor. They were of course involved in
the conflict ; the simoniacal Bishops and their supporters
sided with the Emperor ; his cause, too, was embraced by
the greater part of the country nobles ; the reform party

THE MSB OF THE COMMUNES 71

supported the Pope. But as time went on we find the
cities inclined to withdraw from the general struggle, and
to devote their energies to ends more directly aflFecting
their own private interests. One and all they sought to
get rid of outside authority, whether it was that of the
Bishops or, in the case of many towns, that of Matilda
of Tuscany, Hildebrand's chief supporter, the last
representative of the great House of Canossa.

The task was made easy for them. In many cases two
rival prelates contended for the same see, and vied with
one another in trying to win over the citizens by grants
of their rights, parting with judicial powers, with the tolls
which they levied on roads and markets, handing over
the fortifications to the burghers, recognising the officers
whom they elected to look after their interests. In this
way, though we possess practically no details of the
movement, the municipalities all over Lombardy became
free.

The reformation in the morals of the clergy for which
the people had striven had been on the whole carried
through ; there were still, it is true, some simoniacal
Bishops, but in the main Hildebrand's ecclesiastical
policy had triumphed in Italy. Satisfied with this, the
townsmen were not disposed to aid him very actively
in his extreme political aims ; and so, unheeding larger
issues, they pursued their own way towards freedom.

The Imperial authority still imposed respect, and in
the later years of the struggle, especially when, after the
death of Henry IV., peace was for a moment restored,
and the simoniacal Bishops finally got rid of, few of the
towns ventured to openly oppose the Emperor. Even
soon after the memorable humiliation of Henry IV.
t)efore the Pope at Canossa," there was a strong reaction
in his favour. In 1081 Henry was able to put Thedald
in possession of Milan, and was solemnly crowned by
him in the presence of a large number of Bishops of the
anti-papal faction. For the next twelve years he had
the upper hand in North Italy ; then we find a
momentary union of Milan and her old rivals Lodi

« A.D. 1077.

72 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

and Cremonai which was also joined by Piacenza, and
by which all four bound themselves to resist him,
recognising as Emperor in his stead his rebellious son
Conrad. This union, a foreshadowing of the later
Lombard League, gives unmistakable evidence of the
growth of independence among the cities. They had,
in fact, at last become conscious of their strength, had
shaken ofiF the control of the Bishops, and were now
ready to take advantage of the difficult position of the
Emperor to establish their complete freedom.

The first use the newborn municipalities made of
their liberty was to engage in a fratricidal struggle with
one another ; and thus begins that war of city against
city which fills the whole of their history, and which
is their disgrace, but at the same time makes their story
one of such absorbing interest.

At first this warfare was carried on in the name of
Pope or Emperor. When, on the death of Henry IV.,
the War of Investitures entered on a second stage, this
pretext was given up. The cities, while nearly all pro-
fessing submission to Henry V., who began his reign
at peace with the Pope, gave him but small assistance
when war broke out afresh. But neither did they openly
oppose him. They simply took advantage of the diffi-
culties in which Henry was involved to pursue their own
private ends without the slightest regard to his interests
or to his attempts at pacification.

There were many causes for these hostilities between
city and city. Commercial jealousy, quarrels over tolls
and roads, above all over the use and regulation of the
watercourses which are of such importance for the agri-
culture of Lombardy, boundary disputes especially fre-
quent where the limits of diocese and county did not
coincide, all these urged the new-born free communities
to war. Another fruitful cause of strife were the relations
between the towns and the country nobles. As power
passed from the Bishops it naturally came largely into
the hands of the leading citizens, the Captains and
Valvassors, who, while lords of large tracts in the country,
habitually resided within the walls. The jurisdiction over

THE RISE OF THE COMMUNES 73

these lands, formerly enjoyed by the Bishops, now
naturally passed to the municipal authorities : hence each
city now found itself ruler of a considerable territory
extending over a large part of the diocese.

There were, however, many nobles who did not reside
in the towns, and formed no part of the new association
of the townsfolk, the Comune Civitatis as it began to
be called. They were the descendants of the former
Counts, those landowners holding direct from the Em-
peror, and finally the episcopal tenants whose lands
lay in remote parts of the diocese. This feudal element
was obnoxious to the urban population. They levied
tolls on merchandise, blocked the roads, often swooped
from their castles to plunder the passing merchants,
in some cases claimed rights of jurisdiction inconsistent
with the newly-acquired municipal freedom.* So we
find that the cities one and all adopted the same attitude
towards the country nobles. They claimed supreme
dominion over the whole diocese, either as the lawful
successors of the Bishops, who had in many cases
obtained all the rights of the former royal Counts over
their diocese, or in many cases as themselves now repre-
senting these Counts. We find, in fact, that the citizens
set themselves to reconstruct for their own advantage
the ancient civitas — the town ruling over a subject
district, an institution that had perished in the wreck of
the Carlovingian institutions.

Even where the diocese spread over several counties
the same policy was pursued. Milan claimed dominion
over the counties of Seprio, Martesana, Lecco, and
Anghera, which formed the northern part of the immense
Archdiocese ; Como laid claim to Bellinzona, Chiavenna,
and the Val Tellina, as having formerly been subject in
temporals, as they still were in spirituals, to its Bishop.

So to the war of city against city was joined one
between the cities and the castles. Of the innumerable
combats and sieges which must have filled this period
we know little ; the strife was prolonged in the mountain

' Cf . the Counts of Lomello and Pavia, those of Biandrate and
Novara, those of San Bonifazio and Verona.

74 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

regions almost to the end of the thirteenth century, and
we obtain vivid pictures of it at this time in the annals
of Reggio and Parma. On the great plain of Lombardy,
however, the task of the cities was easier. Otho of
Freisingen, describing the state of affairs about 1150,
says that by then all the nobles of Lombardy except the
Marquis of Montferrat had had to recognise the supre-
macy of the towns. The treatment of these new I
subjects was remarkable. They were deprived of their
semi-sovereign rights, which passed to the cities, and
were forced to build residences within the walls, in
which they were to pass a specified number of months
every year ; their castles, too, were always to be at the
service of the city magistrates. But in return they
obtained the full rights of citizenship, were made eligible
for all public offices, were long left considerable jurisdic-
tion over their vassals, and sometimes even exempted
from certain taxes.

We shall find in later times that the forced settlement
in the towns of a numerous and wealthy landowning
class, in addition to those who had resided there from
of old, had a most important influence on the internal
history of the Lombard cities. For the present, how-
ever, it will be enough to mention that the war against
the castles introduced new causes of quarrel between the
cities. Many nobles sought to escape from the attacks
of a neighbouring Commune by placing themselves
voluntarily under the rule of one more distant, whose
yoke would therefore be more endurable ; others sought
the citizenship of more than one town, so as to play one
off against the other. From all these causes the first
fifty years of the twelfth century were filled with a con-
fused strife spreading from the greater cities to the
smaller communities of freemen, and the innumerable
castles which then rose above the plains, or crowned the
foothills of the Alps and Apennines.

We have seen that the Lombards withdrew from the
struggle between Pope and Empire to pursue their own
private quarrels. Thus Cremona in iioo attacked Crenia,
originally founded by fugitives from the former city, and

THE RISE OP THE COMMUNES 75

over which the parent city persistently strove to assert
her authority.* Of old jealousy had existed between
Cremona and Milan, and Crema naturally sought help
from the latter. Natural allies of Cremona through a
common hatred of Milan were Lodi and Pavia, and
a few years afterwards we find the three attacking
Tortona, a small town in the hills south of the Po,
between which and Pavia there seems to have been the
same enmity as between Milan and Lodi.

These minor hostilities were followed by a warfare of
much greater importance. Dissensions arose in Lodi
between the citizens and the Captains and Valvassors.
The latter were expelled, together with the Bishop, and
sought help at Milan. The Archbishops of this city had
since Aribert's time laid claim to a special authority over
Lodi, and the Milanese ordered the latter city to receive
back the fugitives. A refusal gave the signal for war.
Cremona, and no doubt Pavia, helped Lodi ; Brescia,
which had quarrels of its own with Cremona, aided the
Milanese. The Lodesans defended themselves with
vigour for four years ; but being far inferior in territory
and numbers to their rivals, they could not prevent the
devastation of their lands. Milan at this period of her
history shows a power of expansion which is in truth
surprising. It is possible that the civil strife over eccle-
siastical matters, of which we have given some account,
had made the whole population skilled in the use of
arms, and inspired them with a specially warlike spirit.
At any rate they overthrew the forces of Pavia in 1108,
and utterly defeated Cremona in mo. A curious illus-
tration of the manners of the time is given us by the tale
told of the treatment of the prisoners taken on the former
occasion. They were assembled in the great square of
Milan, their hands tied behind their backs, and lighted
torches being fastened beneath, they were driven through
the open gates back to their own city, amidst the jeers of
the Milanese.

The Emperor came to Lombardy in mo and tried to

' The Countess Matilda had granted Crema and the adjoining dis-
trict, known as the Insula Fnicherii, to Cremona in 1098 (Cantu).

78 THB LOMBARD COMMUNES

restore peace ; but the cities paid no attention to his
exhortations. His contest with the Pope required his
immediate presence in Central Italy ; and though he
burned the small town of Novara, which had refused to
acknowledge him, he could not a£Ford to spend in
Lombardy the time necessary to reduce Milan to
obedience, so he passed on over the Apennines, leaving
Lodi to its fate. Exhausted by four years of devastating
warfare, the city fell at last into the hands of the Milanese
and was rased to the ground. The inhabitants were
scattered amongst six open villages, and the market
which had brought riches to them was done away with.
For forty-seven years Lodi disappears from the list of
Lombard cities ; during this period her citizens groaned
under the harsh rule of their rivals.

There had been renewed troubles over Church matters
during this period in Milan. Archbishop Grossulan,
accused of simony, was for many years an exile; his
successor Jordan, chosen in 1112 with the approval of
the Pope, was equally disinclined to acknowledge
Henry V. as Emperor, or to accord to the Roman See the
rights which it was now endeavouring to establish over
the successors of St. Ambrose. The Bishop of Pavia
seems to have been in the same position, and through the
influence of these prelates the two rivals laid aside their
hostility for a moment, and entered into a league
equally hostile to Pope or Emperor.

There seems also to have been a reconciliation between
Milan and Cremona, to the great detriment of Crema,
which was now attacked by both and captured.

Dreadful natural calamities — an earthquake, a rain of
blood, and other portents — ushered in the year 1 1 17. The
Lombards saw in these phenomena the displeasure of
Heaven, and the Archbishop and consuls of Milan
summoned a general meeting of all Lombardy, in order
to reconcile all feuds, and to urge men to repentance for
their sins. Two lofty stages were erected in the space
called the Broglio of Milan, on one the Archbishop and
his suffragans took their seats, on the others were the
Consuls of Milan and other towns with the leading

THE RISE OP THE COMMUNES 77

citizens. An immense crowd filled the surrounding
space, and implored pardon for their sins while mutually
forgiving past injuries.

This assembly seems to have brought about a general
pacification ; its chief importance for the historian is that
for the first time we find consuls named as at the head of
the state. The cities are now in fact republics, fully
independent except for the nominal obedience they owed
the Emperor, and under a constitution which will be
better treated of in the next chapter.

CHAPTER IV

MILAN AND HER NEIGHBOURS

We have now reached the period when the cities, having
cast off the yoke of the Bishops, stand forth as so many
free republics, owning, however, the universal supremacy
of the Empire.

At the head of each of the city-states, exercising both
supreme executive and judicial functions, are the consuls,
a name recalling the glories of ancient Rome. These
magistrates, first mentioned in the archives of Milan in
1 107, though the name does not appear in the annals
until ten years later, seem to have originated during the
closing years of the eleventh century. They were as a
rule chosen annually; their number varied in various
places, and even from year to year in the same town — we
hear of twenty in Milan in 1130; and besides the internal
government of the city, to tliem was entrusted the
command of the military forces in wartime.'

By their side, as advisers in all matters of importance,
was a Council, chosen from the most experienced and
dignified burghers, to which the name of Credenza, or
Privy Council was given. Without their approval no
matter of importance could be entered upon by the
consub.

Below this Credenza we find, in later times at any
rate, another and larger body, variously styled General
Council or Senate, or Grand Council, or Council of the
Commune, often numbering several hundred members,
taken from the various classes of the free citizens.

' In Milan, and no doubt in either cities, the three classes of
Captains, Valvassors, and free citizens each had representatives
amoi^ the consuls (Otho of Freisingen, bk. ii. chap, xiii.)

MILAN AND JEER NEIGHBOURS 79

Finally, as ultimate depositary of all power, was the
Pariamento, or general assembly of the burghers, called
together on great occasions by the sound of the great
bell of the city, and assembling either in the great square
or Piazza Grande, or in one of the churches. This
assembly was only summoned to discuss matters of the
greatest importance, such as an alteration in the laws or
constitution. It would appear, too, that only such
measures were laid before it for approval or rejection as
bad previously been agreed upon by the Councils.

This constitution rested on older and more simple
institutions. The trades guilds, some of which had
maintained themselves from Roman times amidst the
Lombard and Prankish rule, began to acquire increased
importance, as the necessity for protection in troubled
times caused men everywhere to join in associations for
mutual defence. These guilds elected their own chiefs, to
whom, perhaps, the name of Consul was given, and a
body of counsellors. They possessed common funds,
and were bound to protect their members as far as
possible from outside attack. They would, in course of
time, come to include the greater number of the towns-
men, the fully free citizens being enrolled in the greater
guilds whose members followed occupations looked on
as specially honourable. We find the bankers, the
merchants, the cloth manufacturers as the chief of these
guilds in later times.

Alongside of these associations of the middle and
lower classes the Captains and Valvassors had also their
associations for protection. These Consorterie, as they
were called, generally had their foundation in kinship,
the difiFerent members of one family formed a union,
having certain officers at its head. The kinsmen built
their houses as much as possible in the same quarter of
the city, often around a small piazza, and provided for
their security by the erection at the common expense of
the Consortes of one or more of those lofty, fortified
towers, the remains of which still form such a character-
istic feature in some towns — for example, in Albenga,
Mantua, Asti, and Bologna.

80 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

It was part of the duties of the heads of the Consorteria
to provide for the guard and upkeep of these towers,
which served as a refuge in case of attack, as well as a
means of offence against rival families by means of
machines of war placed on the top. As the cities
gradually subdued- the feudal nobles, and forced them to
become residents within the walls, the numbers of these
towers increased. The newcomers built houses recalling
their country castles by their strength ; the city nobles
followed this example ; family vied with family in the
height and ornamentation of their towers — witness the
extraordinary leaning towers of the Asinelli and Gari-
senda at Bologna — until finally the city as seen from the
open country seemed positively to bristle with these lofty
and slender edifices of brick and stone. Their numbers
became enormous. Pavia is still called the ^* city of the
hundred towers." In Bologna we know of at least i8p.
Verona and Lucca boast of having at one time had the
amazing number of seven hundred.' Besides the towers,
the Consortes erected a colonnade or loggia, opening on
to the piazza or to the street, where they could meet to
celebrate weddings, or for funerals, or to discuss matters
of common interest. The expression " f amiglia di torre e
loggia " became usual to indicate a family of wealth and
position.

On the downfall of the rule of the Bishops their
jurisdiction jpassed naturally into the hands of the noble
Consorterie and the chief guilds of the ordinary citizens.
From the union of the two classes came the expression,
"Comune Civitatis," to express the new municipal
organisation. Prom this is derived the Italian comune, in
English commune^ the name employed by the Italians
to describe the new city-states.

These new institutions were, as we have already said,
of a markedly aristocratic character. In the first place
the great mass of the population, the artisans, the smaller
tradesmen, were altogether shut out from them. Many
of these were still in a state of greater or less dependence

' Frati, " La Vita privata di Bologna," p. 3 ; CipoUa, "Storia di
Verona," p. 172.

''Touts c Loco:.

^0 Jact page 8ol

MILAN AND HER NEIGHBOURS 81

on the Bishops, or on some of the noble families, or of
the greater guilds. As time went on they attained to a
larger degree of personal freedom, but for the whole
twelfth and the greater part of the thirteenth century they
had absolutely no political rights.

In addition to this the consuls, and no doubt the other
officers of the municipality, were chosen, so as to give a
definite proportion of representation to each of the three
classes — the Captains, Valvassors, and ordinary citizens.
In Milan, and no doubt in other towns, the two first
classes had a great preponderance. Out of the twenty
consuls of 1 1 30 nine were Captains, six Valvassors.
Naturally, too, the non-noble citizens would as a rule
choose their consuls from their most prominent and
wealthy fellows.

Especially, too, did the need of experienced leaders in
war tend to throw the direction of affairs into the hands
of the upper classes. In Milan, during the struggle
against Frederick Barbarossa, all the consuls seem to
have been nobles. But here we mark a change in the
meaning of this word. The old distinction between
Captains, Valvassors and Cives disappears, we now find
Milites or Nobiles distinguished from Cives. The test of
the former is that they fought on horseback. To the old
divisions according to birth a new one succeeds which
takes account of wealth as well. In Verona, in 1228, we
find the public offices open to all who have horses and
corresponding military equipment, and own property
worth a thousand pounds money of Verona, as well as to
all the " consueti milites," irrespective of their wealth.
We have, in fact, a real aristocracy of mingled birth and
wealth, not forming a closed caste, but accessible to all
who could acquire a certain amount of property. In
Milan, after the rebuilding of the city in 1167, the
consuls were chosen from the nobles, using the word in
its new sense, by one hundred artistes — ue., members of
the trades guilds. But soon the practice sprang up that
the consuls of one year named their successors for the
next year ; a state of affairs which threw all power into
the hands of the new civic aristocracy.

82 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

This system, though persisting in Verona and also in
other towns as late as 1228, was bound to decay. First
of all there was a natural tendency among the ruling
classes to close their ranks and to admit no new families
to office. The milites began to grow into a caste. In
this tendency we must see, to a great extent, the influence
of the country nobles, accustomed to despise all those
who were occupied in trade or manufactures. But the
commercial classes were continually increasing in wealth,
and, finding themselves now shut out from the offices of
the state, a large and ever-increasing class grew up
envious of the ruling families, and eager to break through
their monopoly of power.

At the same time, as discontent with the aristocracy
grew, the milites weakened themselves by their feuds with
one another. Many writers have declared that the quarrels
between rival noble families which began to distract
almost all the Lombard cities about the beginning of the
thirteenth century, were due to hostility between the old
citizen nobility and the newcomers from the country
whom the former had forced to reside within the walls.
Some have gone so far as to assert that the strife was due
to latent race hatred. The town nobles, say they,
whether descendants of Captains and Valvassors,' or of
wealthy merchants, were of Roman, the country nobles
of Teutonic origin. There seems, however, Httle or no
ground for this assertion. Looking into the details of
the feuds it is impossible to say that on one side were the
feudal nobles, on the other the milites of the cities.

The country nobles did certainly cause discord in the
towns in which they settled. But it was by introducing
their own lawless ways, by continuing within the walls
the quarrels which they had had on their own
domains, by despising the civic magistrates, and re-
venging themselves without recourse to the justice of the

' No doubt some Captains and Valvassors long resident in the
cities were now engaged in commerce, or in banking ; the rich
families who now ranked with them probably often continued their
former business. Hence there would be a certain contrast between
the old town nobility and the country element

MILAN AND HER NEIGHBOURS 83

Comune. The city nobles copied their manners, and
became more aild more separated in sympathies from the
mass of the people. Not only did they fight among
themselves, they joined in oppressing the lower classes,
and so still further increased popular discontent

So we find, in the thirteenth century, a class hostility
which is nonexistent at an earlier epoch. The middle
classes, the grassi popolani, as they were called in
Florence, rise against the aristocratic rule. They first
obtain a share in the government, as in Piacenza, where,
in 1222, they got one-half the public offices and one-
third of the embassies ; then they exclude the nobles
altogether from power.

Much of the subsequent history of the Communes
depends on this quarrel between the middle classes and
the nobles, and the gradual extinction of the power of
the latter. In time, a new struggle would begin, this
time between the middle classes and the lower orders,
the plebe, or popolo minuto « ; but in Lombardy,
before this movement could run its course, it was as a
rule checked by the appearance of the tyrant.

At the period of which we now treat these class
dissensions were still in the future. The cities governed
by a patriciate, to adopt a convenient word —

" Sober and modest, knew internal peace." '

United within, they were able to concentrate all their
efforts on the subjugation of the country nobles, or on
their warfare against neighbouring and rival cities.

The movement in favour of a general pacification
inspired in Lombardy by the calamities of 1 1 17 was not of
long duration. Parma fought with Piacenza in the very
next year; in 11 20 Parma was at war with Cremona.
Verona, placed between the territories of Vicenza and
Mantua, waged war on these two cities in 1121, and four
years later we find Reggio and Modena attacking Mantua
on one side, while Verona assailed her on the other.

' Siena offers the best example of such a struggle.
• Dante, " Paradiso/' xv.

84 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

All these hostilities pale before the ten years' struggle
waged between Milan and Como, of which a poet of the
latter town has left us a record in rude Latin verses, in
which he compares the struggle between his mother city
and the Lombard metropolis to the ten years' contest
waged on the wind-swept plains of Troy. Since the
extensive district subject to Como lay between Milan and
the Alpine passes by which her commerce found its way
into Germany, it is easy to see how quarrels with regard
to rights of passage, tolls, &c., would occur between the
two cities. Hence arose a feeling of hostility which in
1118 burst into open flame.

The contest between Empire and Papacy was still
dragging along its course. The death of Pope Paschal II.,
early in 11 18, gave Henry V. the opportunity of
endeavouring to place on the Papal chair a supporter of
his own, Burdinus, Archbishop of Braga, in opposition to
Gelasius II., who had been chosen by the majority of the
Roman clergy and people a few days after Paschal's
death. The cijties of Lombardy on the whole were
nominally on the Emperor's side ; in many of them the
Bishops acknowledged Burdinus, in others Henry
proceeded to nominate Bishops of his own party,
deposing the supporters of Gelasius. In Como the
Bishop held with Gelasius. Henry declared him deposed
and nominated in his stead a Milanese of one of the
leading noble families of that city. The new Bishop
advanced with a body of armed men from among his
kinsmen and friends into the territory of Como, but was
fallen upon and captured by the citizens commanded by
two of their consuls. Many of his followers perished ;
the rest fled to Milan and spread out on the piazza the
blood-stained garments of the slain, while the widows
and orphans with shrieks and tears called on the people
to avenge the dead. The crowd was easily worked to
fury against their rivals, and the Archbishop himself,
Jordan, though a supporter of the lawful pontiff, shared
the passions of the mob. Patriotism prevailed over his
ecclesiastical leanings ; he closed the doors of the great
church in the face of the people, and declared he would

MILAN AND HER NEIGHBOURS 85

not reopen them — nay more, that he would place the city
under an interdict — unless the burghers of Milan took the
field to avenge their countrymen.

The civic forces issued out with the Carroccio and took
the way to Como. All travellers from Milan towards
Switzerland are familiar with the ruined tower of Bara-
dello, which stands boldly on a conical hill, seeming a
sentinel to the enchanting region of lakes and mountains
which begins at Como, a mile or two beyond. At the
foot of this castle, then the main bulwark of Como
towards the south, the two armies met. Night came on,
leaving the combat undecided. In the darkness the
Milanese left their camp and passing round Baradello fell
on Como while its defenders were all absent in the camp.
The city was given over to pillage and the flames. But
at daybreak the burghers, seeing the smoke from the
summit of Baradello, hastily rushed to the rescue of their
families and homes, and falling on the Milanese, who were
occupied in plundering, inflicted on them a complete
overthrow.

Both cities now prepared for a deadly struggle. Milan
sought and obtained allies from all parts of Lombardy,
and found perhaps even more useful help in the tenitories
of Como itself.

The movement towards municipal autonomy had not
been confined to the cities. The inhabitants of the
smaller towns, and even of the villages, whether fully free
or vassals of the Church, or of feudal nobles, had shared
in the general tendency to combine for mutual protection.
They went farther in many cases, and aimed at complete
emancipation from any overlord but the Emperor. But
in this they encountered the opposition of the cities, who
claimed to rule over the whole of their contado. In
Tuscany, owing to the late rise of the greater Communes,
and to tfieir jealousies with one another, some quite small
communities such as San Gemignano, Colle, Prato, and
the castelli of the Val di Nievole, actually did succeed in
gaining their independence, and survived as miniature
republics until the fourteenth century. In Lombardy,
however, where, as has been already said, the greater

86 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

Communes found themselves almost from the first in
possession of a large part of the contado, the small
communities found it impossible long to resist encroach-
ments on their freedom. They were left, it is true, a
measure of self-government, but had to pay taxes to the
ruling city, and submit to its commands in all important
matters.

They did not, however, always give up the idea of
shaking o£F this yoke ; and so, in the case of Como, Milan
found no difficulty in exciting to revolt many of the
small towns along the lake, Bellagio, Menaggio, and
others whose picturesque sites are now so familiar to the
tourist.

Chief among these small communities were the in-
habitants of Isola Comacina, the small island, barely a
mile in circumference, which lies, the only island in the
lake, only a few yards from the shore, not far from that
delightful region the Tremezzina, which claims with
justice the title of the " Garden of Lombardy."

Its situation had made it important from the earliest
times. To it had fled, during the Lombard invasion, the
most spirited among the Roman inhabitants of the neigh-
bourhood, carrying with them their property. The small
stretch of water between it and the mainland proved to
the Lombards, unacquainted with navigation, an obstacle
which they could not overcome. Not until twenty years
had passed did it come under the Lombard rule, and then
only in virtue of an honourable capitulation. Byzantine
civilisation had preserved itself here during this interval
amidst the flood of surrounding barbarism ; and it is from
it, and not from Como, that many modern writers derive
the origin of the Maestri Comacini, the guild of masons
and architects alluded to in the Lombard laws, to whom
in later times was due the erection of so many of the
churches which display the architectural features desig
nated by us as Lombard.

We find the island, Christopolis as it had been callef
while it served as a refuge from the Lombards, serving a
a shelter to the son of King Berengar. Cantii quotes ;
charter of Otho I. in which he concedes to the inhabitan i

THE NEv; Y;r;.<
PUBLIC LiBR;.RY

AfTfft, LENCX AND

TILDEN rJUNDAT.»S5. \

MILAN AND HER NEIGHBOURS 87

and to those of Menaggio privileges hitherto unheard of.*
The island seems to have been strongly fortified, and
possessed a small district on the mainland where the in-
habitants had the farms from which they drew their sub-
sistence. Much of their income no doubt came from a
carrying trade on the lake or from fishing. The nine
churches said to have existed on it are another proof of
its prosperity.

The Isolani felt the same jealousy and dread of Como
that the latter city felt towards Milan. They now saw
a chance of freeing themselves from the yoke. With
the coming spring, in conjunction with the people of
Bellagio, Menaggio, Gravedona, and other places all led
by the same feelings, they equipped a flotilla of seven
vessels, with which they made a sudden descent on Como.
They met with a complete overthrow, and the Comasques
had time to prepare themselves for the much more
formidable attack which threatened from the south.

Not only did the forces of Milan take the field against
them, but the poet declares that Brescia, Bergamo,
Cremona, Novara, Pavia, Asti, Vercelli, and cities more
distant still, Parma, Guastalla, Bologna, Ferrara, Mantua,
and Verona, appeared as allies in their train. The Coun-
tess of Biandrate, a feudal lordship extending over a large
part of the diocese of Novara, came to the hosting, carry-
ing her infant son in her arms, and even the distant
Tuscan valley of the Garfagnana sent its noble knights.
It is hard to explain this gathering from such distant
cities. Possibly they were all for the moment on the side
of Henry V. and his Antipope, and a feeling of loyalty to
their Emperor may have called them to the field.

This great force devastated the territory of Como, and
laid formal siege to the city, while the vessels of Isola and
its confederates scoured the lake. The valour of the
Comasques and the strength of their walls beat off all
attack. It was not possible for a burgher army, com-
posed largely of men who lived by their daily labour, to
keep the field for any length of time. The allies after

' Cantuy " Storia della dtta e della diocesi di Como," p. 132. But
is the charter j^nuine ?

88 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

several useless assaults retired, proclaiming by a herald
that they would return next year in the month of August.
No doubt they chose this date as enabling them to reap
the crops and destroy the vintage of their enemies.

The next campaign was equally fruitless of results ; the
Milanese retired promising to return in the following
May. Como then turned to chastise its rebellious sub-
jects. Both parties fitted out vessels of war, distinguished
by names such as the IVolf, the Claw, the Swift, the
Crastina (or Crisiina), and the Alberga.

The allied communities of Dongo, Gravedona and
Domasco, near the head of the lake, who had formed
a federation under the name of the Tre Pievi, or Three
Parishes, and who aspired to set up an independent Com-
mune, constructed a great ship to take the same place in
the rebel fleet as the Carroccio had in the army. Twelve
oarsmen urged it along, twenty-four valiant warriors
defended it, from its mast floated the banner of the
Tre Pievi, while below was a crucifix and altar.

The fleet of Como, numbering twelve vessels, and
manned by the flower of the citizens, sailed against their
opponents. The latter do not seem to have ventured on
a regular battle, and the Comasques carried destruction
far and wide along the shores of the lake. With the ships
they had captured, and no doubt employing all their own
of every size, they collected a hundred vessels, and descen-
ded on Isola. They sacked the island — we must suppose
that there was on it some kind of citadel to which the
inhabitants retired, for they certainly were not subdued
on this occasion — and laid waste the mainland districts
subject to the Isolani. Bellagio and other places felt their
vengeance, and the fleet, laden with spoil, returned in
triumph to Como.

For the next years the history of the war is the same.
There were raids by the Milanese to the walls of Como,
counter-raids on the rich villages and small towns, such
as Varese, which were thickly scattered over the north
of the diocese of Milan. The conflict raged especially
around the castles and villages along the lakes of
Lugano and Como. On the former lake the Milanese

MILAN AND HER NEIGHBOXJRS 89

fitted out vessels at Lavena, and induced Lugano and
other places to revolt to their side. The Comasques from
the village of Melano, under Monte Generoso, fought
them successfully, and chastised the rebels. It would be
impossible to relate all the naval encounters, the surprises
of castles, the plunderings, the various acts of treachery
of which these lovely shores were the theatre. On one
occasion Melano with the vessels in its port was betrayed
to the enemy by the Comasque leader. At once the
Alberga and Crastina were carried overland from Como
to the Lake of Lugano, set sail for Lavena, recovered the
captured vessels, captured others, and finally regained
Melano.

In 1 1 24 the Tre Pievi returned to their allegiance,
and with their aid Isola and Menaggio were once more
laid waste. A new attack on Como by land followed
this, but so far was it from daunting the Comasques
that in the meantime they again fell on Isola. This
time we have clear mention of a fortress on the island
which resisted all attack.

The town of Lecco, at the extremity of the south-
eastern arm of the Lake of Como, lay in the Archdiocese
of Milan. The same reasons which made Isola and
Bellagio hostile to Como should have made Lecco
an enemy of the Lombard metropolis — ^in fact, we find
that this was the case in later times. For the present,
however, it would seem that Lecco felt more enmity
to Como : no doubt there were constant causes of
quarrel over the fisheries and navigation of the lake.
Milan then found here a basis for a naval attempt on
Como. Thirty vessels were got together at Lecco and
advanced down the lake. The fleet of Como met and
defeated them, and the triumphant warriors returned
to Como, to take part in a sally which drove off a
force which had once more advanced to the walls of
their city.

During the next two years the same incidents were
repeated, raids by one and the other party, combats
on the lake, revolts and recapture of castles, a new
attempt on Como. But the long war was beginning

90 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

to tell on the latter city. Year after year its territory
was ravaged, more of its subjects fell away, the enemies
pushed their raids into the distant Valtellina, the whole
district of Lugano was lost to them. Above all Como lost
the man who had been the soul of its defence — the
Bishop Guido, who died in 1125, uttering sad fore-
bodings as to the fate of his country.

The Milanese, with vastly greater resources, resolved
on a final effort in 11 27. Their call for help from their
allies was answered as before by Asti, Cremona, Novara,
Pavia, Vercelli, Parma, Bologna, Ferrara, and Mantua.
The conquered Lodi, and Crema the constant client of
Milan, sent their forces as a matter of course. New allies
appeared — Alba, Albenga, Modena, Piacenza and Vicenza.
The nobles of Garfagnana came as before, so did the young
Count of Biandrate, now a boy eager to taste of war.
Genoese engineers came to direct mining operations,
Pisans to construct engines of war. Lecco and Isola
attacked on the side of the lake.

The courage of the people of Como was not broken
by the overwhelming might of their enemies. But their
resources were unequal to their spirit. The flower of
their youth had fallen in the nine years' war. Old men
and mere boys had to take their places on the walls.
The latter, shaken by the machines constructed by the
Genoese, began to yield. A desperate sortie of the
besi^ed in the hope of destroying these engines was
repulsed ; the assailants had already opened a breach,
and awaited the next day in order to give the final
assault. Then the townsmen, seeing all hope of defend*
ing their city gone, embraced the desperate resolution
of conveying the remnant of their forces, with the
women and children, to the neighbouring fortress of
Vico, and from thence continuing the war.

In the darkness of the night, while a chosen band
of warriors made a final sortie to distract the attention
of the enemy, the women and children, and finally
the surviving defenders of the city, embarked on the
vessels in the harbour, carrying with them what they
could of their property. At daybreak the Milanese saw

MILAN AND HER NEIGHBOURS 91

the wall deserted and the city void of life. But they
also saw the walls of Vico manned and ready to
sustain a new siege, which its position on a ^ rock
inacces^ble to their machines would infallibly render
as arduous as had been that of the city.

They therefore sent to the fugitives, proposing an
honourable capitulation. The walls of Como were to
be destroyed, and Como was to pay homage and tribute
to Milan, but the property of its inhabitants was to be
inviolable. This latter condition was not observed; the
city was sacked, its fairest edifices destroyed, many of
the inhabitants led away into captivity. We will see
how in later days these outrages were avenged.

I have dwelt thus at length on this war because it
offers in its varied and picturesque details a vivid
picture of the fratricidal contests of the cities, and
because it shows us the degree of independence to
which they had now attained, and the wonderful outburst
of energy, and the intense patriotism which liberty had
produced. Besides, there can be little doubt that it
was in this long struggle that the Lombards acquired
the experience in warfare and the spirit of self-reliance
which in the next generation enabled them to defy
the power of the Empire.

One cannot fail to remark that the Emperor seems
in no way to have interfered to put a stop to this war.
The quarrel over Investitures had been ended in 1122
by the Concordat of Worms, which reconciled Empire
and Papacy on a basis of mutual concessions. Henry V.
would no doubt have sooner or later turned his attention
to re-establishing the Imperial authority in Lombardy,
and as a preliminary to imposing peace on the con-
tending cities. But this energetic and gifted monarch
died in 11 25, at the comparatively early age of forty-
four.

His death was followed by a quarrel over the succes-
sion. The Electors passed over Frederick of Hohen-
staufen, Duke of Swabia, nephew of Henry on his
mother's side, and inheritor of the greater part of his
private possessions. In his stead they chose Lothair

92 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

of Supplinbiirg^ Duke of Saxony, a province which had
always been inclined to opposition against the Emperors
of the Franconian line. Frederick was not inclined to
renounce his claims without a struggle, and he was still
farther embittered by an attempt of the new monarch
to deprive him of the lands he had inherited from the
Franconian House. War broke out in Germany in 1126.
Next year Frederick's brother Conrad returned from the
Holy Land, and with his brother's consent took the
title of King. Leaving Frederick to carry on the war
in Germany, Conrad passed into Italy, hoping by his
presence there to win the whole country to his
obedience.

The Imperial authority had been in abeyance in the
peninsula for several years past, and the Communes,
left without restraint on their actions, had taken the
opportunity to pursue their quarrels with one another
with ever increasing fury. It became practically a matter
of course that each city should be in a chronic state
of feud with its immediate neighbours. Temporary
peaces might be patched up, two rivals might find them-
selves for a moment united by a common hostility to
a third, but these were mere breaks in the ordinary
course of affairs. We may lay down as an axiom that
two Communes having a common frontier were per-
petually at variance.

The Romans, in laying out the civitates of Cisalpine
Gaul, had in the main followed the plan of giving to each
of the towns they founded a long and somewhat narrow
strip of territory, running from Apennines or Alps north
or south, until it touched the Po. This is especially to
be noticed in the case of the cities founded along the
Via iCmilia, in the modern provinces of Emilia and
Romagna. Hence, as a glance at the map will show,
each Commune found itself shut in between two neigh-
bours on the east and west respectively, with a third,
lying north or south as the case might be, and usually
separated from it by the Po or some other large river.
Bearing this in mind, it will be easy to grasp the general
principle underlying the apparently confused warfare

MILAN AND HER NEIGHBOURS 93

which fills up most of the next century. Each town was
in a state of chronic hostility to its eastern and western
neighbour, and to a less extent with the city whose
territory fronted it on the opposite side of the Po.

So Piacenza was the deadly enemy of Parma and
P^via, and since Milan lay on the other side of Pavia a
natural alliance sprang up between Piacenza and Milan.
Brescia was bounded by Bergamo on the west, and on
the south-west the Oglio separated it from Cremona.
Both these cities were enemies of Milan, so the latter
was brought into alliance with Brescia. On its eastern
frontier the Lago di Garda cut off Brescia from Verona,
except for a few miles at its southern extremity ; but
there was no natural division between Mantua and
Brescia, hence these two cities were generally at variance.
Cremona was as we have seen the neighbour and enemy
of Brescia; its border only touched the territories of
Mantua for a short distance, so that Cremona and
Mantua, though often at variance, were often drawn
together by a common hostility to Brescia.

The situation of Milan and Pavia was somewhat
different. Their territories did not run up to the moun-
tains, and were of more circular form. Seven cities
hemmed in the territory of Milan, and in most cases no
natural boundaries served to divide them. Hence Milan
was ringed round with enemies. Chief of all was Pavia,
whose long duel with Milan forms the central point
round which one may group the main story of the
Lombard cities. We have already seen the relations of
Milan with Lodi, Como, and Cremona ; this last ranks
next after Pavia among the opponents of the city of
St. Ambrose. To these foes must now be added Novara
on the west and Bergamo on the east. The small
Crema, over which Cremona claimed dominion, was
forced by this to become the ally, one might almost say
the vassal, of Cremona's rival. On the other hand
Vercelli, which, as bordering on Novara and Pavia, might
have been expected to be on the Milanese side, seems
for some unexplained reason to have lived on good terms
with its neighbours.

04 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

South of the Po Bologna and Modena were at constant
variance. Reggio was at first generally allied with
Bologna ; Parma was the close friend of Modena.
Reggio was also constantly at war with Mantua, which
possessed a small district south of the Po, which she
sought to extend at the expense of Reggio. So we find
Modena, Mantua, and Parma frequently leagued against
Bologna and Reggio. At a later period, however, for
reasons not easy to explain, we find the three Emilian
towns, Modena, Reggio, and Parma, in close alliance
with Cremona against Bologna, Brescia, Piacenza, and
Milan.

To sum up, we can class all the cities west of the
Mincio in two groups under the headship of Milan and
Pavia. Under the first were arranged Crema, Brescia,
Piacenza, Tortona ; under the second we find Cremona,
Lodi, Bergamo, Como, Novara, and Asti. Vercelli has
no very definite position ; Mantua, Reggio, and Modena
were outside the influence of the two leaders ; finally
Parma supported now the one, now the other, according
as her hostility was directed at one time against Cremona,
at another against Piacenza.'

The state of affairs in eastern Lombardy, the Trevisan
or Veronese Mark as it was called, was somewhat
different. We have seen how under the Othos this
district had been separated from the kingdom of Italy,
and joined first to the Duchy of Bavaria, then to
Carinthia when this latter district was raised to the
position of a duchy. Under the First Conrad the whole
eastern portion of the Mark, the territory now known as
Friuli, was given to the Patriarch of Aquileia, and com-
pletely freed from all dependence on Carinthia. The
rest of the Mark was now separated geographically from
Carinthia, and the influence of the Dukes was less and

' Parma fought Cremona in ziio, iz2i, 1131, and 1153; she
fought Piacenza in 11 18, 1149, X153 (when Cremona and Piacenza
were for a moment allied), and 1159. In 1152 Parma ravaged the
lands of Reggio, and took and burned the small town of Borgo San
Donnino and carried off all its inhabitants as captives {Ckronicutn
Parmcnsc. — Ckronicutn Placentinum),

MILAN AND HER NEIOHBOUBS 05

less able to make itself felt in these parts. So the Bishops,
and finally the Communes, began to establish their power
here as in the rest of Lombardy, and finally about the
close of the eleventh century a disputed succession in
Carinthia enabled the Mark to shake off all dependence
on the Dukes.

The Lake of Garda, and the delta of the Po cut off the
most part of this r^ion from the neighbouring cities. It
was only along its south-western boundary that it had
any close contact with the rest of Lombardy. The
territory of Mantua formed the frontier along most of
this boundary, and it is only through the relations of
Verona with this city that the Trevisan Mai^ comes into
contact at this early period with the general currenf of
Lombard history.

Of the four chief cities of this region Treviso and
Verona had no direct contact with one another. Padua
touched the frontiers of both, so did Vicenza, which latter
city was bounded on the south by Padua. Hence there
was here no natural system of alliances possible. Each
Commune fought with its three neighbours, the result
being a tangle of feuds impossible to reduce to order.
To the east of Treviso, lay a kind of debateable region
where feudal lords and small towns tried to preserve
their independence alike from Treviso and from the
Patriarchs of Aquileia. The contests here led to practical
anarchy. Finally the small towns of Feltre and Belluno
among the mountains la^ed behind the others in
their development. The Bishops here preserved their
authority down to a comparatively late period.

The Milanese received Conrad with enthusiasm. They
may have thou^t that the German princes should not
have raised a new dynasty to the throne without some
consultation with the Italians. The Archbishop, Anselm,
was at the moment engaged in a quarrel with the Pope
over the rights of his see, and so was eager to gain for
himself the support of the Imperial name. Conrad
received the Iron Crown of Lombardy at Monza, and the
ceremony was s^terwards repeated at Milan. This city
was now by far die most powerful in Lombardy, since

06 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

the burghers of Como and Lodi, though retaining a
semblance of autonomy, were completely subject to the
orders of their conquerers. But Conrad soon found that
his Italian subjects aimed more at serving their own
interests than his, and were of little use to him in his
attempt to push on to be crowned in Rome.

Pavia, Cremona, and Novara naturally rejected the
choice of Milan; the Pope, supporting Lothair as the
lawful king, laid the city under an interdict, and possibly
on this account Brescia ahd Piacenza forsook their
former ally and joined the party of Lothair. A desultory
warfare ensued, in which the Milanese chronicler, Lan-
dulph the Younger, claims the advantage for his fellow
citizens. But this in no way advanced Conrad's cause.
The Papal interdict turned many of the Milanese from
his side ; he found himself treated with contempt by his
subjects, until finally an outbreak in Milan forced him to
leave that city for Parma. Here, too, he found little
help, and finally he recrossed the Alps after a stay of
some years in Lombardy.

Soon after Lothair appeared on the scene, but with
forces so small as to be able to attempt nothing against
the greater cities, such as Verona and Parma, which
refused to receive him. With the Cremonese he be-
sieged Crema for a month, but in vain ; then, with the
newly elected Pope Innocent, he proceeded to Rome,
where he received the Imperial Crown, but was not
strong enough to expel from the city the Antipope
Anaclet, who had been set up on the death of Pope
Honorius, in 1130, by a faction among the Roman
nobility. Unable to accomplish anything farther in
Italy, he returned to Germany. Nothing can more
clearly show the low state to which German power had
fallen south of the Alps than the powerlessness of both
the rivals to establish any hold on Lombardy.

It is from this conflict that many writers date the
origin of the famous names of Guelf and Ghibelline,
those party cries which fill such an important place in
the story of Italy. They very probably originated at
this time in Germany, but it seems certain enough that

Statue of Conrad III.

To face page 97,

MILAN AND HER NEIGHBOURS 97

their introduction into Italy was at a much later date,
most probably during the struggle towards the end of
this century between Philip of Hohenstaufen and Otho
of Brunswick. We do not hear of them during the time
of the Lombard League, so we will leave the question of
their origin and meaning untouched for the present.

The Hohenstaufens, seeing that fortune was unfavour-
able to their arms, submitted to Lothair in 1134, and this
prince reigned with undisputed authority until his death
three years later. On a second expedition to Italy the
Milanese and Parmesans received him warmly ; Cremona
and Pavia, however, presuming, perhaps, on their former
services, were less obedient and refused to be reconciled
with the rival cities. Lothair now turned on his former
allies. The district of Cremona was laid waste, Piacenza
taken by assault, and Pavia had to pay a heavy fine to
escape similar harsh treatment. For the moment the
Imperial power was restored in Lombardy.

Conrad of Hohenstaufen, who succeeded Lothair,*
abandoned Italy to itself. He was first occupied in
Germany, then went on a crusade, and when finally,
after a reign of fifteen years, he was preparing to come
and receive the Imperial crown at Rome, he was over-
taken by the hand of death. These fifteen years were
a time of increasing confusion in Italy. Mantua fought
Verona — ^the chroniclers count five wars between 11 25
and 1 1 50, and tell us that on one occasion the vic-
torious Mantuans cut off the noses of three thousand
Veronese captives — Bologna fought Modena, Brescia
fought Cremona. Parma had war on all her borders —
with Piacenza, with Cremona, and with Reggio. In the
Mark, Padua and Treviso were ranged against Vicenza
and Verona. But the most serious quarrels were in
Central Lombardy : Cremona persisted in her attempts
to subdue Crema, and the latter Commune put itself
under the protection of Milan. The hostilities between
Milan and Pavia had begun again in 1135. In the fol-
lowing year the latter had gained an important victory.
The Milanese army was captured or dispersed "like

* In 1 137.
7

88 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

timid sheep/' But in 1 139 victory favoured the Milanese.
The greater part of the army of Cremona was captured
under the walls of Crema.

Ten years later Cremona and Parma are allied against
Milan, Piacenza, and Crema. The former triumphed, and
even captured the Milanese Carroccio.

To these conflicts between the greater cities must be
added those between the larger Communes and the small
communities in their dioceses which tried to establish
their independence. Thus in 1152 Parma burned Borgo
San Donninoand led away all its inhabitants as prisoners.
A Milanese historian gives the name of four communities
destroyed by his countrymen. If to these we add the
continual hostilities between the Communes and the
country nobles, of which the details are almost entirely
unknown to us, we shall be able to obtain some idea of
the distracted state of Lombardy about the middle of the
twelfth century.

Statue of Frederick I.

To face page 99.

CHAPTER V

MILAN AND FREDERICK BARBAROSSA

Such vi^zs the condition of affairs all over Italy when a
new monarch was elected to the German throne, who
showed himself determined to re-establish the fulness of
the Imperial rights over the peninsula. Frederick of
Hohenstaufen, who has gone down to history under his
nickname of Barbarossa, nephew of Conrad, was chosen
unanimously as his uncle's most worthy successor. As
representative of the Franconian Emperors, as well as
Duke of Swabia, he was master of wide possessions, and
through his mother, Judith, he was nearly allied to the
great House of Welf, which had been the most trouble-
some opponent of the Emperor Conrad, as well as of the
last two Henrys. His character was noble, he was full
of great ideas, had a lofty sense of the dignify and rights
of his position, and in Germany, at any rate, showed
himself eager to punish wrongdoing and maintain in-
ternal peace. He possessed considerable military talents,
and in the government of his kingdom set himself to
establish, as far as circumstances would allow, strong
centralised institutions which would enable Germany to
appear among European nations as a real kingdom, in-
stead of a loosely joined agglomeration of semi-indepen-
dent lordships. In the actual conduct of warfare he did
not rise superior to the cruelty of his age, but, the victory
once obtained,>he was magnanimous. ** I love to reward
rather than to punish," was his speech to the Milanese
after the first capitulation of their city. It is, in fact,
worthy of remark that neither then, nor at the time of
the destruction of the city, after a second and more inex-
cusable rebellion, nor when his arms had brought about

100 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

the surrender of Tortona and Crema, do we hear of any
of those executions which even down to our own day
have always accompanied the triumph of lawful authority
over rebellion.

Preparations for an expedition to Italy which had been
contemplated by Conrad were now pushed forward with
vigour. Frederick saw his authority firmly established
north of the Alps, and was determined once more to
assert the rights of the Empire in the peninsula, to which
also he was invited by pressing messages from the Pope.

A great Diet, at which nearly all the German princes and
prelates assisted, was held at Constance in 1153. During
three months Frederick, surrounded by a brilliant court,
gave order to the affairs of his kingdom, and dispensed
justice to all comers. It happened that among the multi-
tude assembled in the city there were two citizens of the
ruined Lodi. Seeing how Frederick redressed wrongs
and upheld the right, the thought came to them of plead-
ing the cause of their country, still groaning under the
yoke of Milan. They went into a church, took from it a
large cross, and bearing this, advanced to the feet of
Frederick, where, flinging themselves to the ground, they
besought him with tears to have pity on them, and to
free them from slavery.

This strange spectacle moved the pity of the bystanders
and of the Emperor himself. He at once had a decree
made out, ordering the Milanese to give back liberty to
Lodi, and dispatched an Imperial officer to communicate
it to the parties concerned. This official went first to
the villages, in which since the destruction of Lodi its
burghers had lived dispersed. He communicated his
letter to the consuls and the Credenza, but its contents,
so far from being satisfactory to them, filled them with
terror. The Emperor was still far off, Milan was near,
and might easily take a fearful vengeance for this inter-
ference with her subjects. They implored the messenger
not to proceed to Milan, and when they could not turn
him from his purpose, they sent to assure the Milanese
that they were innocent of having provoked Frederick's
•-♦-'-"-*ntion.

MILAN AND FREDERICK BARBAROSSA 101

The royal letter was read at Milan before the assembly
of the people. It excited them to fury ; the bearer with
di£Bculty escaped with his life, while the document itself
was torn and trampled underfoot. The people of Lodi
were now a prey to the extremes of terror. They sent
their wives and children for protection to Cremona ; they
themselves scattered during the day through the woods,
and in the open country, expecting at every moment to
see the Milanese advancing for their destruction. These
latter, however, did not venture to provoke Frederick too
far, and attempted nothing against Lodi.

In the meantime the Italian cities sent, as usual,
deputations to congratulate the new monarch, and to
ofiFer him the customary presents. Cremona and Pavia
took advantage of this to lodge complaints against the
aggressions of Milan. Instructed of this the Milanese
attacked these two cities, and forced the burghers of Lodi
and Como, as well as their allies from Crema, to follow
them into the field. A battle took place between Milan
and Pavia, which lasted all day, without decisive result.
In the night, however, the Milanese were seized with
a sudden panic and fled, leaving their camp and a great
booty a prey to their enemies.

In October, 1154, Frederick, at the head of a great
army, came down into Italy by the Brenner Pass, and
proceeded to the plain of Roncaglia, near Piacenza,
where, from of old, had been held the Diets or general
assemblies of the Italian kingdom. Frederick himself
has left us, in a letter to his uncle, the historian Otho of
Freisingen, a concise but clear account of his proceedings
in this expedition. The great vassals of the kingdom
and the deputies of the Communes appeared before him
to do homage, receive justice, and proffer their com-
plaints. The Marquis of Montferrat complained of the
attacks made on him by the people of Chieri and Asti, and
was joined in his accusations by the Bishop of the latter
city, which had evidently not yet wholly shaken itself free
from episcopal rule. Pavia accused the Milanese of
grasping aggression against its neighbours. Como and
Lodi besought the Emperor to free them from their slavery.

102 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

"The deceitful and proud Milanese uttered lying
speeches/' and offered four thousand marks, provided he
would confirm their rule over these two cities. This
offer Frederick rejected with scorn, and demanded from
Milan guides and provisions for his army on its march
from Piacenza to Novara where, he declared, he would
give sentence regarding the various complaints.

The route chosen by the guides, which indeed was
the shortest, led through the districts which had been laid
waste during the recent campaign between Milan and
Pavia. The supply of food ran short; the Germans
ascribed this to the deliberate hostility of the Milanese ;
and, in revenge, attacked and destroyed the castle of
Rosate, though defended by five hundred knights, »
and pillaged the surrounding districts. The Milanese
attempted to pacify Frederick's anger, but in vain. His
army advanced to the River Ticino and seized two
bridges which the Milanese had constructed to help them
in their attacks on Novara. Then he took and destroyed
two castles which they held on the other side of the
river, and from which they used to make inroads on
the Novarese territory.

Novara, Vercelli, and Turin, which he visited in
succession, all welcomed him ; and then, crossing the
Po, he advanced to punish the misdeeds of Chieri and
Asti.a The townsmen did not await his coming, but fled
with such of their property as they could carry, and the
two places were given to the flames.

Then he advanced against Tortona, and ordered the
burghers to renounce their alliance with Milan and to
contract one with Pavia. On their refusal he prepared
to lay siege to the city. Here, for the first time, he found
what opposition the Communes from behind their strong
walls were able to offer to a feudal army. He easily

* "Equites" says Otho of Freisingen.

' The contemporary accounts say Cairo, a small town and castle
much more to the south, near Savona. But Frederick speaks of
" this strong and large place/* and from this and from the order of
his march it is evident that Clarinm (U., Chieri), and not Carium, is
meant.

MILAN AND FRBDEKIGE BARBAB088A 103

made himself master of the lower town ; hot the castle,
or upper town, whose walls rose from a steep rod!:,
defied all his assaults. In vain the most powerful
machines cast stones into the town, or battered the walls;
in vain a mine was opened against the only tower whose
foundations did not rest on the solid rock. The towns-
men, aided by two hundred Milanese and by some of
the nobles from the neighbouring Apennines^ attempted
frequent sorties, and successfully met Frederick's mine
by a counter mine. The Imperial army, to which were
joined the forces of Pavia and Montferrat, had to turn
the siege into a blockade. A ditch cut o£F the town
from all access to the open country, and after constant
struggles the Pavesans succeeded, not indeed in shutting
off the besieged from the only well from which they
could draw water, but in rendering it useless^ first by
casting into it the dead bodies of men and horses, and
then by throwing in pitch and burning sulphur.

Easter came, and Frederick proclaimed a truce of four
days. During this time the clergy, issuing in procession
from Tortona, implored pity for themselves, as being
innocent of all part in the resistance of the burghers.
Then they artfully began to intercede for the city. But
they were answered that their fate cpuld not be separated
from that of their fellows, and that these could expect no
mercy unless after an unconditional surrender. Un-
willingly they had to return within the walls.'

Finally hunger and thirst accomplished what arms had
proved unequal to. After a two months' seige the towns-
men were forced to surrender. Frederick allowed them
to leave the city, bearing with them as much of their
property as they could carry. They took refuge in
Milan ; and the Imperial army was rewarded with the
plunder of the city, which was then given to the flames.

After this tedious siege Frederick, on the invitation of
the citizens, proceeded to Pavia, where he was received

* Sismondi (chapter viiL) somewhat misrepresents this episode.
It is quite true that they asked leave to pass throng the lines of the
beseigerSy but they also did what they conkl to secure favourable
terms for their fellow citizens.

104 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

with all possible honour. Here he received the crown
of Lombardy, and wore it for three days, in the midst of
the universal rejoicings of the citizens.

He then set out for Rome, to receive the Imperial
crown. Piacenza, by which he passed, was hostile ; the
example of Tortona had taught him how long might be
the time necessary to reduce even the smallest city, and
he passed on, leaving the Lombards for the moment to
themselves.

We need not follow the Emperor in his expedition south
of the Apennines. It is sufficient to say that his German
vassals, anxious to regain their homes after a year's
campaign, forced him to disband his army at Ancona,
without undertaking the campaign against the Normans
of Apulia, on which, urged by the Pope, the Greek
Emperor, and by many nobles of South Italy, he had
decided He himself, with his immediate followers,
returned to Germany by Verona, where, when crossing
the Adige, he nearly fell a victim to a treacherous attack
planned by the citizens.

This first expedition of Frederick had shown the
power of the Empire when united under a capable
chief. But no less had it shown its weakness. His
army passed over the open country like a devastating
storm ; but it was another matter when a feudal army
had to reduce a fortified town. In the then state of
military science famine was almost the only means of
reducing a walled city, and the feudal army could not be
kept together long enough to break down the resistance
of a number of fortresses. The climate of Italy, too,
was found to have fatal effects on the Germans ; their
armies melted away rapidly ; and, if a city could hold
out for six months, it might reasonably hope to see the
hostile army forced by natural causes to raise the siege.
To counteract these disadvantages Frederick at first was
able to utilise the mutual hostility of the Lombard cities.
The forces of Cremona, Pavia, and the Italian nobles
supplied the deficiencies of the German levies; but it
might easily have been foreseen that, if the Lombards
should once lay aside their feuds, and unite against the

^9^'

Milan.
Naviolio Grande.

To fact pagt 105.

MILAN AND FREDERICK BARBAROSSA 105

foreigner, it would be an almost impossible task to reduce
them once more to submission.

Before leaving Italy Frederick had put the Milanese to
the ban of the Empire, and deprived them of all their
rights and privileges. These, or some of them, he con-
ferred on Cremona, in return for " its faithful devotion
and unstained honesty." As soon as he had gone the
Milanese took measures to secure themselves against the
attack which they knew was only postponed.' Their
first step, taken as soon as the Emperor had left Pavia on
his way to Rome, was to rebuild Tortona. This they did
in spite of the attacks of the Pavesans, who on one
occasion, however, succeeded in inflicting heavy losses
on them. Next they fell on Novara and Pavia, inflicted
much damage on them, and made themselves masters of
a great part of the territory of the former city. On the
side of Como they invaded the neighbourhood of Lugano,
and captured twenty castles in this region.

At the same time they put their city into a state of
defence. To secure the safety of the suburbs which had
sprung up outside the original circuit of the walls, they
constructed the large moat, or rather canal, which, under
the name of the Naviglio Grande, forms such a pic-
turesque feature in the modern city. This moat, circular
in form, formed the boundary of the city for centuries
afterwards* On the inner side ramparts were erected,
with gates of stone. It is said that on this work they
spent the immense sum of fifty thousand marks of silver,
eleven hundred thousand pounds of our money.

They justly suspected that the citizens of Lodi would
join the Emperor as soon as he appeared. They pro-
posed, then, to bind them by an oath to be obedient in
all things to the commune of Milan. This oath the
Lodesans refused to take, except with the proviso
"saving the fidelity due to the Emperor;" and, as the
Milanese refused to accept this, and the Lodesans allowed
their movable property to be carried off rather than
consent, stronger measures were determined upon. The
forces of Milan marched against the villages in which
* This was in 1156.

106 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

the Lodesans lived ; the latter fled before them en masse
into the territory of Cremona; and the villages were
rased to the ground.

Besides Tortona, the Milanese could count on the
assistance of Piacenza, Crema, Brescia, and the for-
midable Isolani of the Lake of Como. Bergamo, as the
natural enemy of Brescia, was a strong upholder of the
Imperial cause ; but her burghers met with a complete
overthrow at the hands of their enemies, in which over
two thousand of them were captured, together with the
great banner of their city, which for years was displayed
with great pomp on the anniversary of the battle in the
Church of SS. Faustinus and Giovita.

Frederick had been detained for more than two years
beyond the Alps, but at last in the summer of 1158 an
immense army concentrated at Ulm, and from there set
out by four different routes for the plains of Lombardy.
Almost all the great nobles and prelates of Germany
accompanied the army, the most formidable which, for
centuries, had descended through the passes of the Alps.

The various detachments concentrated in the neigh-
bourhood of Brescia. This city attempted to resist ; but,
terrified by the numbers of the enemy, the inhabitants
capitulated after a few days, paying a large sum of
money, and giving hostages. Here Frederick held a
Diet, at which deputies from Milan appeared to negotiate
peace. The Emperor, however, required complete sub-
mission, and as this was refused the Milanese were once
more proclaimed rebels.

Frederick then advanced on Milan, and forced a
passage over the Adda in spite of the resistance offered
by a thousand horsemen. On the other side of the river
Frederick met the deputies of the Lodesans, who be-
sought him to provide them with new homes. He
marked out a site for them, about four miles distant from
their former city, and on this place they established a
new and strongly fortified town, to which they gave the
name of their old home, and which has lasted to our
own day.

We are fortunate in possessing abundant contemporary

MILAN AND FREDERICK BARBAROSSA 107

accounts of all these events. Otfao of Freisingen and
his continuer Radevicus give us the point of view of the
Germans, and of the Emperor himself. The views of
the Communes hostile to Milan are put before us by
Otho Morena, a magistrate of Lodi, and employed in
Frederick's service, as well as by his son Acerbus.
Finally, a Milanese, Sire Raul, represents the party of
independence.

Frederick had issued orders to all Lombardy to send
its forces to fight under the Imperial standard. The
Marquises, Counts, and Captains obeyed his orders, so
did nearly all the cities. Even Piacenza was afraid to
face the gathering storm, and bound hersdf by oath to
send a hundred fully armed horsemen and a hundred
archers to the siege of her former ally. Only Crema,
Tortona, and the islanders of Lake Como dared to stand
by Milan.

With an army said to number fifteen thousand horse
and a hundred thousand foot, or more, Frederick
advanced against the offending city. On their side the
Milanese prepared for an obstinate defence. They could
dispose of fifty thousand combatants, and flattered them-
selves that it would be impossible completely to blockade
the city ; while the deep canal which they had lately
constructed served to protect their walls from direct
attack by the rams and other instruments of war.

Frederick, in spite of the frequent sallies of the
besieged, succeeded in drawing lines round the city.
He pitched a camp before each of the seven gates, and
the troops from these were able to come to the help of
any part where a sudden attack might be made. Constant
sallies and combats succeeded one another.

Outside the Porta Romana stood a monument of
Roman days, a marble tower rising from four solid
arches. Here the Milanese had placed forty men in
order to prevent it from being used by the enemy as a
point of vantage on which to erect catapults and balistas.
They had hoped to be able to hold the ground between
it and the gate, but the Imperial forces succeeded in
isolating the tower from all help. The garrison, how-

108 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

ever, held out for a week, until the Germans, getting
under the arches, began to demolish the vaulting. Then,
fearing that the tower would give way beneath them,
the survivors surrendered. This post then became for
the besiegers one of their most important bases of attack.

In the meantime, the surrounding districts were laid
waste, and the sallies of the burghers generally ended in
disaster, though on one occasion they surprised the
enemy and captured from them an immense number
of horses. The constancy of the citizens was shaken
by repeated reverses, and by the view of the devastation
of their lands by the Pavesans and Cremonese. Famine
and disease began to prevail inside the walls ; and citizens
were not wanting who declared that these disasters came
from the wrath of Heaven, provoked by their impious
resistance to the sacred majesty of the Empire. Dissen-
sion began to rise within the walls ; the poorer classes
began to feel their sufferings intolerable.

At this juncture the Count of Biandrate, the owner of
immense fiefs in the territory of Novara, who was also
a citizen of Milan, brought forward proposals of peace.
He enjoyed grejit credit amongst the people, and would
indeed appear to have been, for a time at least, in
supreme command of the civic forces. His position as
one of the chief feudatories of Lombardy made him a
persona grata with the Emperor also ; and he succeeded,
not without some tumults, in inducing the Milanese to
send delegates to the Imperial camp to negotiate a
pacification .<

The terms of this were unexpectedly lenient. Milan
renounced all jurisdiction over Como and Lodi, promised
to pay a large indemnity, to build an Imperial palace,
and to swear fidelity to the Emperor, surrendered all the
Regalian rights, and submitted the nomination of the
consuls to Frederick's approval. On the other hand
there was to be a complete amnesty, Milan was to retain
its dominion over the counties of Seprio and Martesana,
and all the rest of the Archdiocese, the Imperial army
was not to enter the city, and Tortona, Crema, and the
' September, 1158.

MILAN AND FREDERICK BARBAROSSA 100

Isola Comacina were to be included in the treaty.
Besides this the alliance between Milan and these cities
was to continue. Curiously enough Frederick was
unable to include Cremona, Pavia, and the other cities
hostile to Milan in this treaty. He could only promise
to use his influence to bring about a general pacification
— 2L striking instance of the insecure basis on which his
power still rested.

The submission of the city was made in the most
ample manner. The Imperial throne was set up four
miles outside the walls. Frederick and his wife took
their seat on it ; he wore his crown as on solemn
occasions ; and the nobles of Germany and Italy arrayed
themselves around their lord. The whole population,
first the Archbishop and clergy bearing sacred relics and
crosses, then the nobles barefoot, and with their swords
slung behind their backs, then the people with ropes
around their necks, advanced in long procession to make
their submission before the throne.' This ceremony
over, the Emperor dismissed the greater part of his
forces, and, after a short residence at Monza, repaired to
Roncaglia, where he assembled a great Diet to regulate
the affairs of the Italian kingdom.

For this purpose four celebrated jurists of Bologna
were summoned to inquire into the rights appertaining
to the Crown. Two consuls from each of fourteen cities
were to aid them in the task. Frederick aimed at
nothing less than establishing a regular constitution,
which would define once for all the respective rights of
the sovereign and of the subject.

The Archbishop of Milan opened the proceedings by
an extraordinary speech, in which he propounded the
most exaggerated doctrines as to the Imperial supremacy.
The Emperor was the sole lawgiver, his mere will was
law, an order, a letter, a sentence of his was binding on
all. These doctrines had been unheard of up to now in
the feudal monarchies; above all, the Church had for
over a century been preaching an entirely contrary
doctrine ; and it adds to our surprise when we find this

' 1158.

110 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

very same Archbishop, only a year or two later, an active
opponent of Frederick, excommunicating him, and even
directing military operations against him. Perhaps the
explanation is that the Archbishop hoped by Imperial
support to regain the authority over the city possessed
by his predecessors, and we are confirmed in this belief
by finding at the time of the truce of Venice (1177) that
the Bishops of Padua, Piacenza, Brescia, &c., whose
flocks were all opposed to Frederick, had been excom-
municated for supporting him. These prelates still
possessed or claimed a certain amount of temporal power
over the cities, and it was no doubt to preserve this, and
to recover what they had lost, that they had joined the
Imperial party.

The commission then proceeded to inquire into
the Royal prerogatives. They decided that all those
rights to which the name '^ Regalia " was usually given
belonged to the King, and that under this term were
included the duchies, marquisates, and counties, the right
of coining money, of levying tolls, of exacting provisions
for the army (fodero, as this was called), of receiving the
dues arising from imports and exports, ports, mills, and
fisheries, and all revenues which might come from the
rivers. In addition the subjects w^re bound to pay a
capitation tax.

This decision as to the kingly prerogatives was, no
doubt, influenced by the Roman conception of the
omnipotence of the Imperial power, for the study of the
Roman law had been very lately revived and pursued
with enthusiasm at Bologna, and had begun to affect to
an ever increasing extent the jurisprudence of the time.
At the same time it is to be remarked that the rights here
adjudged to the Emperor were only the most ordinary
prerogatives of government, and were, if anything,
inferior to those possessed by the English Kings, and
by the Kings of France within the royal domain. It was
the first step towards the establishment of a strong cen-
tral government. The consuls of the various cities — ^those
of Milan, it is said, first of all — ^bowed to the decision, and
resigned into Frederick's hands all the Regalia.

MILAN AND FREDERICK BARBAROSSA 111

Frederick now took further steps towards strengthening
his authority. He absolutely forbade all warfare t)etween
city and city, as well as between private individuals. All
particular alliances were to be dissolved, and any quarrels
that might arise were to be settled by the Royal judges.
During the Diet an immense number of private lawsuits
had been brought before him for decision. To cope
with these he had appointed judges for the different
dioceses, taken from cities unconcerned in the points at
issue. He now formed the plan of appointing in each
city a magistrate to exercise both judicial and executive
functions, who was to be taken from some other Com-
mune, and who was to exercise authority in his name.
To these magistrates, as representing the Imperial power,
the name Podesti (Latin, potestas) was given ; and, as he
held that the assent of the Diet allowed him to override
all previous engagements, he at the same time entirely
did away with the consuls, or made them subordinate to
his new magistrates.

His design was, in fact, to establish a really e£Fective
government, dispensing justice and maintaining order by
means of magistrates appointed by himself, and revocable
at his pleasure. This is government as we understand it
at the present day ; and it was institutions of the kind
that created the strong monarchies of France and
England.

Had he carried through his plans, Italy would have
been spared centuries of bloodshed ending in slavery.
But she would have lost all that makes her special glory
— ^that splendid flower of vigorous individual life which
springs up in small communities where each man can
take a direct part in public affairs, where honours and
the chance of performing great deeds are within the
reach of all. The life of Bristol and York, of Orleans
and Rouen, has been a more peaceful and, we may
suppose, a happier one than that of the Italian Com-
munes. But they have missed the glory in art and
literature which will for ever be associated with the free
cities of Tuscany, the splendid maritime supremacy of
Pisa and Genoa and Venice, the marvellous development

112 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

of commerce and manufacturing industry that we find in
Lombardy. Italy might have gained, the world would
have lost by the victory of Barbarossa.

It was perfectly certain that, however right Frederick's
reforms might be from the abstract point of view, they
would meet with fierce opposition. For at least half a
century the cities had been in possession of all those
privileges which were now withdrawn at one stroke.
They had acquired these privileges step by step ; they
looked on them as their only ssLfeguard against feudal
oppression or Royal tyranny ; it was their possession
that had made the various Communes flourish, and had
evoked that burning flame of local patriotism of which
we have already seen examples. To them Frederick's
measures meant destruction to all they had learnt to
prize, a retrograde step from liberty to slavery.

Frederick himself had recognised this. He had con-
firmed to Lodi, Pavia, and Cremona all the privileges
which they actually enjoyed, and he furthermore declared
that he would confirm to all the Communes those Regalian
rights of the grant of which by former sovereigns they
could furnish documentary proof. But this was in
reality a mere elusive concession. In most cases the
Regalian rights had passed insensibly from the Bishops to
the citizens during the confusion at the close of the
eleventh century. In scarcely any case would formal
documents exist recording the privileges which the
Communes had acquired in a great part by usurpation,
and which had then in course of time grown into a right
by prescription. Almost certainly the Milanese could
show no other sanction for their institutions than that
which long possession might give, and doubtless many
other cities were similarly situated. Even the Bishops,
in many cases, would have found it hard to produce
documents to prove that they had succeeded by lawful
means to the authority of the Counts.

The feudal lords no doubt fared much better. Most
of those who held directly from the Crown had at some
time or another received formal grants of countly rights
in their domains. Frederick's measures, too, would tend

MILAN AND FKEDERIGK BARBABOSSA 113

to free them from all encroachments made on them
by the cities, preserve them from further attack, and so
would restore them to the position of independence
which they had held half a century before. Hence
we find the Marquises, Counts, and greater nobles
generally supporting the Imperial policy. The net result
of Frederick's reforms was that an annual sum of thirty
thousand talents (perhaps marks) was added to his
revenues.

To propound this new organisation of the kingdom
was easier than to carry it out ; and Frederick soon
found himself once more in collision with the cities
which had before resisted him. The Cremonese accused
the people of Piacenza of having attacked their del^ates
when on their way to Roncaglia* Whether this com-
plaint was founded or not we cannot say, but Frederick
decided in favour of his own partisans, and condemned
the Piacentines to destroy their fortifications, and to level
all their towers to the height of twenty cubits. The
burghers pretended to obey, but in reality evaded carry-
ing out the order. He next, also to please the
Cremonese, gave orders that the people of Crema should
destroy part of their walls. Far from obeying, the
people broke out into a violent tumult when Imperial
ofiEcers arrived to give the order and to institute a
Podesta.

But it was with Milan that the chief conflict arose.
Both sides accused the other of a breach of the
capitulation which bad so recently been concluded ; but
the balance of wrongdoing is on the whole on the side
of the Emperor. He had distinctly promised to leave to
the city all its rights over the districts subject to it,
except over Como and Lodi* But the nobles of Seprio
and Martesana were discontented with the rule of the
city, and Frederick was induced to withdraw these
counties from the jurisdiction of Milan, and to set up in
them a German Count. He had been crowned at Monza,
and asserted that this town should be looked on, on this
account, as peculiarly united to the kingdom, and should
therefore owe allegiance to the Emperor alone. These

114 THE LOMBARD CX)MMnNES

proceedings were manifest violations of the treaty, but
the Milanese had to submit without hope of redress.

Less questionable but more obnoxious to the people
were his measures towards the city itself. The treaty had
guaranteed to them the right of electing the consuls, on
condition that the election should be confirmed by him.
But now, relying on the decision of the Diet of
Roncaglia, that the Regalian rights all belonged to him,
he held that he was freed from observing this clause, and
sent his Chancellor and other dignitaries to the city for
the purpose of removing the consuls and putting a
Podesta in their place. The people broke out into a
tumult at this, and attacked the envoys, so that the lead-
ing citizens were forced to send them secretly outside the
walls lest they should fall victims to the mob. All efforts
at an explanation were now fruitless. The Milanese
accused the Emperor of violating the capitulation ; he
made the same charge against them, declaring that they
had sworn obedience to him, and had, by their consuls,
made a full surrender of all their privileges to him at the
Diet of Roncaglia. To this they answered according to
the German Radevicus : " We have sworn indeed, but we
have not promised to keep our oath."

After such a reply, if such indeed was their reply,' no
accommodation was possible. Frederick was then at
Bologna, whither he cited the Milanese to appear before
him to justify their conduct. They did not obey, but
prepared for new hostilities, and in April, 1159, ^^^ eight
months after the peace, they were once more put to the
ban of the Empire ; their goods were declared forfeited,
their city was condemned to be destroyed, and they were
to be reduced to the condition of serfs.

The Milanese had expected this, and had themselves
commenced hostilities. They attacked the castle of
Trezzo, and took it after a three days' siege, getting
possession of a considerable treasure which Frederick

' Hegel believes that this accusatioii of Radevicus is due to a mis-
tmderstanding of what the deputies really said. Such disregard for
the sanctity of an oath is entirely contrary to what we know to have
been the character of the Lombards at this period.

lOLAN AND FREDERICK BARBAROSSA 115

had placed in it for safety. The lives of the German
garrison were spared, but the Lombards found among
the prisoners were executed as traitors, and the castle
destroyed. Then, before Frederick could collect his
forces, they, with the people of Crema, attacked Lodi,
while the Brescians invaded the territory of Cremona.
Both these enterprises, however, were unsuccessful, and
the Brescians in particular suffered heavy losses.

Frederick now summoned his German vassals to take
the field, and contented himself, while awaiting their
arrival, with making destructive raids on the Milanese
territory. His energetic Italian policy had already
gained for him a dangerous enemy and for the Milanese
a useful ally.

Abeady causes had arisen to destroy the good under-
standing which had existed at first between Frederick and
the Englishman who, under the title of Adrian IV., then
held the Papal see. Now, after his first victory over the
Milanese, the Emperor set about establishing his
authority over the inheritance of the Countess Matilda.
Royal legates were sent into Central Italy to demand
tribute from the cities which the Pope looked on as
belonging to the Church. To the Pope's protests that
Frederick was infringing the privileges of the Holy See,
that the only right possessed by him in the city of Rome
was that of exacting the tribute called fodrum on the
occasion of his coronation, and that he had no right to
the lands comprised in the donation of Matilda, the
Emperor replied casting doubt on the rights of the Pope
to any temporal dominion independent of his authority
and asking how the Pope could deny that he was the
lawful ruler of Rome since Adrian himself recognised
him as King of the Romans. With two opponents of
such inflexible character an accommodation was clearly
impossible.

Accordingly Adrian prepared for war. He found a
powerful ally in the Norman monarchy established in
Sicily and South Italy, which had lately been consolidated
by the overthrow of the rival Norman principality of
Capua. The Emperors had never recognised as legiti-

116 THB LOMBABD COMMUNES

mate the rule of the Normans in the peninsula, and
Frederick had, on his first expedition to Italy, formed an
alliance with the Pope, the Greek Emperor, the Prince of
Capua, and many discontented southern barons, with a
view to bringing South Italy under his authority. This
coalition had failed, for the German vassals had refused
to serve any longer in Italy after his coronation, but
Frederick had not renounced his designs, so now the
King of Sicily was naturally led to conclude an alliance
with Adrian. And now, coming to an open breach with
the Emperor, the Pope in August, iiS9i came to an agree-
ment with Milan, Brescia, Piacenza and Crema, by which
he promised to excommunicate him before eleven days
had passed. The illness and death of the pontiff in
September prevented the carrying out of this agreement.

Frederick, in spite of reinforcements from Germany,
did not yet feel strong enough to lay siege to Milan. The
Cremonese took advantage of this to satisfy their private
hatred against Crema, and by the offer of a large sum of
money induced Frederick to undertake the siege of this
steadfast ally of Milan. The town was small but well
fortified by a double wall and a wide and deep ditch, and.
was well supplied with food.

The siege began in July and lasted for nearly sevei.
months. The inhabitants made a desperate defence, and
their resistance roused Frederick to acts of ferocity, rare
even in that age. A certain number of the prisoners
captured in the preliminary skirmishes were hanged in
sight of the town ; the citizens retaliated by slaying on
their walls an equal number of the enemy. Frederick^
infuriated, executed a large number of the hostages which
he had previously received from Crema, as well as six
Milanese who had been captured while on a mission to
Piacenza. The Italian allies exceeded the Germans in
acts of cruelty. The Cremonese slew the prisoners they
had taken and shot their heads within the walls; the
townsmen retaliated and mutilated the slain.

The Emperor had prepared an immense wooden tower
which he wished to bring close up to the city, in order
to throw a bridge from it to the walls. To this he

MILAN AND FREDERICK BARBAROSSA 117

fastened the hostages of Milan and Crema who were still
in his handsi children of the most illustrious families of
these townS; hoping thus to turn aside the storm of missiles
with which the besieged had hitherto checked the ad-
vance. The fathers and relatives of these unfortunates
uttered lamentable cries of despair as the tower advanced
with its living freight. But one of them lifting up his
voice — ^such is the story told by the German historian —
cried out to his children : " Happy they who die for their
country," and exhorted them not to fear a death which
was preferable to seeing the violation of the women and
the misery of the children of their native city, and to
witnessing their country fall a prey to the impious hands
of the men of Cremona and Pavia.

During this time the engines on the walls were
keeping up a continuous fire on the tower, which began
to yield under the blows ; and Frederick, fearing its total
destruction, gave orders to withdraw it Four of the
Milanese, five of the hostages of Crema had been
slain, and two seriously wounded; and the chronicler
has piously recorded the names of these unhappy
victims. Yielding to the better impulses of his nature,
Frederick did not repeat this barbarous and useless
expedient.

His anger, however, demanded fresh victims ; but the
prayers of the clergy in his camp, though they could not
stop all farther executions, at any rate saved the lives of
the greater part of the intended victims. It must be put
down to the credit of the Church that, in that barbarous
age, her hand often interposed to save those whose lives
the law had declared forfeited. One is forced to admit
that Frederick, in dealing with his rebellious subjects,
showed a clemency which we look for in vain in the
dealings of Alva in the Netherlands or of the English in
Ireland and in India.

After more than six months of constant assaults, the
besiegers succeeded in bringing their towers close up to
the walls, and in letting fall drawbridges by which their
best troops advanced to the assault, while bowmen in the
upper storeys worked havoc amongst the defenders. Yet

118 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

the besieged maintained their ground and beat o£F attack
after attack. Their losses from the missiles of the assail-
ants were, however, so great that as evening fell they
abandoned the outer circle of walls, ready to sustain a
new siege within their interior defences.

Their losses, however, had been enormous, and on
reviewing their situation they found that they had little to
hope for from a further resistance. They sought and
obtained the mediation of the Patriarch of Aquileia, and
Henry the Lion of Bavaria, pointing out that if they had
resisted the Emperor it was because they were bound by
the most solemn ties to Milan, and because they were
ready to undergo all extremities rather than fall under the
power of their deadly enemy Cremona. They were ready
to accept any conditions from Frederick, provided he did
not hand them over to the Cremonese. Frederick again
showed himself clement in the hour of victory. He
allowed all the inhabitants to leave the city with as much
property as they could carry with them, and to go wher-
ever they pleased, while to auxiliaries from Milan and
Brescia he accorded the like terms except that they were
to go out without arms or goods.

The total surviving population of this, one of the
smallest of the Lombard cities, is said to have amounted
to twenty thousand souls, amongst which we must no
doubt reckon a large number of the peasants from the
surrounding district who had taken refuge within the
walls. They retired to Milan. The town was burned
and with its territory handed over to the Cremonese, who
destroyed all that had escaped the flames, not sparing
even the churches.

This long siege had exhausted the time during which
the German feudatories were bound to serve; most of
them now recrossed the Alps, and Frederick, with forces
too reduced to undertake any serious operations against
Milan, retired to Pavia.

The death of Pope Adrian had been followed by a
disputed election. The majority of the Cardinals gave
their votes to a Siene^, Rolando Bandinelli, already
distinguished as a diplomatist, but a minority, backed

MILAN AND FREDBBICK BARBAROSSA 119

up by a strong party among the nobles and the inferior
clergy, chose the Cardinal Octavian, a man of violent
character, who, it seems, was looked on as a friend to the
Emperor. Frederick at once seized this opportunity of
asserting the superiority of the Empire over the Papacy,
and convoked a Council at Pavia, to which he summoned
the prelates of the various Christian kingdoms, and before
which he ordered the two competitors to appear, in order
to have their claims heard and decided on.

Such an action was, in fact, to go back to the days of
the Othos, and to reduce the Church to the position of
servitude from which Hildebrand had freed her. The
lawfully elected Ponti£F, Rolando, who took the title of
Alexander III., entirely refused to recognise the right of
the Emperor to interfere in the election ; his rival, known
as Victor III., on the contrary, presented himself before
the Council at Pavia. Here his claims were examined,
and he was recognised as the lawful Pope by the assembly,
at which few or no prelates were present except those of
Germany and some of those of Lombardy.^ This was
followed up by the excommunication of Alexander, and
ambassadors were sent to secure the adhesion of the
other Christian sovereigns.

On his side, Alexander, at Eastertime 1160, excommuni«
cated Frederick and Victor, and drew close the relations
between the Holy See and Milan and her allies. The
Archbishop of Milan, who at the Diet of Roncaglia had
propounded such extreme views as to the prerogatives of
the Emperor, now appears as actively hostile to him, and
not only repeated the Papal excommunication, but added
to those who fell under its ban several bishops and feudal
lords and the consuls of Pavia, Lodi, Cremona, Novara
and Vercelli. A nephew of the Archbishop's had been
among the Milanese nobles hanged before Crema ; this
possibly accounts for his changed views.

The decision of the Council of Pavia had no weight
outside Frederick's dominions. All the rest of Europe
acknowledged Alexander, and the Milanese were now

' Prom fifty to seventy Bishops, besides Abbots, were present
according to Von Raumer.

120 THE LOMBABD COMMUNES

assured of the support of that power which had already
more than once proved itself mightier than that of the
German Caesars.

The greater part of Frederick's army had been dis-
banded after the fall of Crema, and the ensuing year was
occupied by a desultory warfare, carried on chiefly by
the forces of Frederick's Italian allies. An attempt by
Milan and Piacenza to lay siege to Lodi was frustrated
by the arrival of help from Cremona, and the war re-
solved itself into a series of mutual raids and attacks on
casdes, in which the fortunes of both parties were pretty
evenly balanced.

Only one of the numerous combats recorded by
Morena deserves mention. The Milanese, with the full
strength of four of the " portae," or quarters into which
the city was divided, and some auxiliaries from Brescia,
had laid siege to the castle of Carcano, which lay on an
island or peninsula in a small lake in the territory of
Como. Frederick came to the rescue with the troops
of Como, Novara, and Vercelli, the Counts of Biandrate
and of Seprio and Martesana, the Marquis of Montferrat,
and some soldiers of Pavia. He managed to cut the
Milanese off from their supplies, and reduced them to
the alternative of surrendering or cutting their way
through the hostile army. They chose the latter
course. The Emperor with his German cavalry liroke
the wing of the Milanese opposed to him. He reached
the Carroccio, killed the oxen which drew it, overthrew
the car, and captured the standard of the Commune.
But on the other wing the Milanese and the horsemen
of Brescia had overthrown the men of Como, Vercelli,
and Novara, nearly destroying the contingent of the
latter city. Then they turned against the Emperor, who,
outnumbered, had to retreat in haste and shut himself
up in the castle of Baradello, abandoning his prisoners
and a great booty. Next day the Lodesans and Cremo-
nese, who were hastening to Frederick's aid, were de-
feated. But on the other hand the garrison of the castle
made a sortie, and burned the machines of the besiegers,
and the Milanese returned home, leaving Carcano untaken.

MILAN AND FREDERICK BARBAROSSA 121

This battle, the first in which the Italians had met
Frederick in the open, took place in August, 1160. Next
spring a large force assembled in Germany, and by the
month of June had reached Lombardy. The Milanese
had up to now maintained their ground in the open
country, and the Piacentines had in the preceding March
inflicted a signal defeat on the burghers of Lodi; but
now Frederick possessed such an overwhelming superi-
ority in numbers — it is said that his army again numbered
a hundred thousand combatants — that he was soon able
to overrun the whole Milanese territory, and to cut of! all
food supplies from the city. To add to the distress of
the townsmen a terrible fire had destroyed nearly a third
of the city, and consumed the granaries in which most
of the provisions were stored. Nevertheless the towns-
men, though completely cut o£F from their allies of
Brescia and Piacenza, held out bravely. Vigorous sorties
were made, in one of which the Emperor himself was
nearly taken or slain. But famine began once more to
prevail within the walls; the poorer classes became
mutinous; of the nobles many fled to the Imperial
camp. At length envoys were sent to propose terms
of surrender. Frederick demanded an unconditional
submission, and the leaders of the Commune, forced
by a popular tumult and seeing that farther resistance
was hopeless, were compelled to yield.

Once more the whole population, with ashes on their
heads and ropes round their necks, came out from the
walls to prostrate themselves before the Emperor. The
Carroccio^nd ninety-four banners were handed over to
the Germans, four hundred hostages of the chief citizens
were given up, and the unarmed multitude was sent back
to the city, there to await the Emperor's decision. He,
however, guaranteed them their lives, ordering them in
the meantime to take the oath of allegiance and to
destroy the gates, and make breaches in their walls.
More than a fortnight passed before his final orders
were made known. Then the whole population was
ordered to leave the city. Many of the wealthier sought
refuge in the neighbouring towns, the rest were dis-

122 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

tributed among four open villages, where they con-
structed huts for themselves, thus undergoing the fate
which more than fifty years before they had inflicted on
Lodi.

On the 25th of March the Emperor with his army
entered the deserted city through a breach in the walls,
and made known his final sentence. The city was to be
utterly destroyed, and the task was entrusted to the neigh-
bouring cities whom Milan had so long vexed. Lodi was
to destroy the quarter of Porta Orientale, Como that of
Porta Comacina, and so the four other quarters were
assigned to Pavia, Cremona, Novara, and the feudal lords
of Seprio and Martesana. So eagerly did they perform
their work of destruction that at the end of six days not
a fiftieth part of the lordly city remained standing.

CHAPTER VI

THE LOMBARD LEAGUE

The fall of Milan appeared to have firmly established
Frederick's authority in Lombardy. It might seem that
with a little prudence he could in a short time have built
up south of the Alps a power that would enable him not
only to overcome his opponents in the rest of the Penin-
sula, but also to reduce to complete subjection the
feudatories of Germany.

A little reflection, however, will show that his power
in Lombardy, in spite of his twice-repeated victory over
Milan^ was built in reality on very insecure foundations.
The keen-witted Italians cannot have failed to observe
that the Emperor's success had not been obtained as
much by his German levies as by the efforts of his Italian
allies Lodi, Pavia, and the other cities near Milan. These
cities had served as secure bases for his operations ; their
territories had supplied him with provisions ; their militia
had enabled him to maintain the blockade of Milan when
the German feudatories had completed their time of
service, and had returned to their homes. But suppose
that instead of allies Frederick had found the Lombard
cities united against him, it was plain that he would have
found it impossible even to'teduce the smallest of them.
With no fortified base, no allies to supply him with pro-
visions, his army would have melted rapidly away. The
walled cities could defy the means of attack possessed by
the Germans, and before they could be reduced by famine
the feudal levies, if not already dispersed by want of sup-
plies, would break up of themselves, their term of service
having expired.

Such views must have been held by many Lombards,

124 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

and the greatest prudence would have been requisite on
the part of Frederick in order to prevent any fresh
quarrels, and, above all, to give no occasion for any league
against the Germans between the various communes.

Unfortunately for Frederick's aims this prudence seems
wanting in his action. He seems to have looked on his
triumph as complete, and to have taken no pains to make
the restored Imperial authority acceptable in Lombardy.

In August, 1 162, Frederick returned to his dominions
north of the Alps, where he was busied in a fruitless
attempt to induce the French monarch to declare for
the Antipope. Before his departure he had appointed
governors with the title of Podesti, Germans or Italians
devoted to his cause. To Pavia, Lodi, and Cremona he
left their old institutions; but elsewhere, alike in cities
such as Como and Novara, which had eagerly supported
his cause, or in those such as Parma and Padua, which
had never displayed any hostility to him, as well as in
those which had actively opposed him, he did away with
the Consular government and set up officials who began
to render themselves intolerable by their oppressions to
all the Lombards alike.

Increased and exorbitant taxation — ^the landowners of
Milan had to hand over to their Podesta one-third of the
third part of the produce which they received as rent
from the cultivator' — forced labour on Imperial castles
and palaces, outrages against women, denial of justice,
this was what the revival of Imperial authority brought
with it for the Italians.

Besides, differences of national character and institu-
tions caused constant friction between the German rulers
and garrisons and the subject populations. Appeals to
the Emperor or his legates only made matters worse.
Occasionally an official was removed, to be succeeded by
one as tyrannical ; more open complaints only led to
fresh exactions.

Frederick's return to Italy, after a year's absence, was

' Besides, every freeman in Milan had to pay 3 solidi yearly ; for
every yoke of oxen and every oilpress X2 denarii were exacted.
(V. Raumer, voL ii. p. 185).

THE LOMBARD LEAGUE 125

hailed by the Ualians as affording some prospect of relief
from oppression. The Milanese, men, women, and chil-
dren, advanced to meet him, in torrents of rain, as he
passed near their dwellings ; and, throwing themselves
on their knees, besought his mercy. He seemed moved
at first, and released their hostages ; but the deputies
whom he ordered them to send to Monza to submit their
complaints to his ministers, instead of obtaining relief
were forced to pay 880 pounds as a gift to the Emperor,
in honour of his safe return to Italy.

Frederick indeed made some attempt to improve
matters. He declared himself ready to hear all com-
plaints and to remedy injustice. But, as a matter of
fact, relying on the decisions of the Diet of Roncaglia,
he did little to satisfy the expectations of the Lombards.
Some abuses were remedied ; in other cases the officials,
who naturally found Frederick more ready to believe
their statements than those of his late enemies, were able
to represent their own actions favourably, and to silence
all complaints as coming from the spirit of sedition.
One city did indeed obtain from the Emperor a discredit-
able boon. Pavia asked leave to destroy the fortifications
of Tortona, alleging that that city had been raised from
its ashes by the rebel Milanese. Frederick consented, but
the Pavesans, going further, laid the whole city in ruins.
The Antipope Victor died in the spring of 1164.
Frederick saw in his death a chance of ending the schism
in the Church, and sent orders forbidding a new election.
But the Cardinals of Victor's party, before Frederick's
orders reached them, had already chosen as Pope Guido
of Crema, who took the name of Paschal IH. The
Emperor, naturally averse to making a complete sur-
render to Alexander, and hoping ultimately to persuade
the rest of Christendom to accept a Pontiff devoted to
his interests, accepted their choice, and the schism con-
tinued. The German prelates acknowledged Paschal,
but elsewhere he met with no support. Up to now many
conscientious men in Italy and elsewhere had looked on
Victor's claims as having some appearance of justifica-
tion. But Paschal's election and consecration had been

126 THE LOMBARD (X)MMUNES

carried out in a highly irregular fashion, with the result
that opinion in Italy veered round almost altogether to
the side of Alexander.

As well as with the active hostility of the Pope, and the
increasing discontent of the Lombards, Frederick had to
cope with other and dangerous enemies. Chief of these
was the King of Sicily, against whose dominions Frederick
had long been meditating designs of conquest.

The Greek Empire was at this period experiencing one
of those revivals of power and influence which form such
a marked feature in its history whenever a strong line of
rulers was on the throne. Manuel Comnenos, the then
Emperor, had turned his attention to Italian affairs, and
had made a vigorous effort to regain those possessions in
Southern Italy which the Normans had won from his
predecessors. Foiled in this, he now turned towards
Central and Northern Italy, hoping to take advantage of
the confused political circumstances in those provinces
in order to win a footing in some of the seacoast cities.
Since the Crusades it could not be a matter of indiffer-
ence to the Emperor of the East what pontiff reigned in
Rome. The King of France won Manuel over to the
side of Alexander. There was a natural jealousy between
the rival Caesars of the East and of the West; and
besides, Frederick, if firmly established in Lombardy
and Southern Italy, might prove a more dangerous
enemy than the Normans. All these causes rendered
Manuel disposed to unite himself to Frederick's adver-
saries.

He found an instrument to his hand in the Venetian
Republic. This State, grown wealthy through the
Crusades, had established its power firmly in the Upper
Adriatic. It had been allied with the Greeks against the
Normans, but had made peace with the latter in return
for extensive commercial privileges. It thus served as
a link between the two formerly hostile powers. The
Venetians could not view with indifference the establish-
ment on the mainland of a strong power such as Frederick
aimed at setting up. They, too, had recognised Alex-
ander, and were ready to give ear to the efforts made by

THE LOMBARD LEAGUE 127

Manuel to excite them against Barbarossa. From all
sides the storm was gathering round the Empcror.V*

There had already been tumults in some of the Lom-
bard cities. In Bologna the Podesta had been murdered,
and his body flung from the windows of his house into
the street. The Milanese had assassinated one of the
officials set over them. In Padua the burghers, excited
by an outrage attempted by the Imperial governor, rose
and expelled him from the city.

It was in the neighbourhood of Padua, a part of Italy
which so far had lain outside the conflicts between
Frederick and the Lombards, that the movement of
resistance to the Emperor first took organised shape.
Manuel Comnenus is said to have sent agents to Venice
and the neighbouring towns with large sums of money,
to stir up the Lombards to arms, and the result was that
the four cities of the Veronese Mark — ^Treviso, Vicenza,
Padua, and Verona — united with Venice in a league to
resist all oppression on the part of Frederick, while
acknowledging his lawful prerogatives. Prom the union
of these cities was to spring the famous Lombard League.

Frederick, on hearing of this movement in the Vero-
nese Mark, drew out his forces to re-establish his
authority. He had scarcely any German troops with
him, and was therefore forced to rely on the levies of the
cities which had aided him against Milan. With these
he advanced against Verona and took some castles in the
territory of that city. But the confederated cities got
together an army, and prepared to meet Frederick in the
open field. The Emperor did not feel strong enough to
risk a battle ; he found that he could not trust the dispo-
sitions of the forces under his command, Italians who
had no personal hostility against the cities of the Mark,
and who were many of them no longer favourably dis-
posed towards himself. He deemed it more prudent,
therefore, to retire to Pavia, and to await the arrival of
more troops from beyond the Alps before undertaking
any further offensive measures.

In the meantime he sought to strengthen his position
by bestowing privileges on Mantua and Ferrara, the

128 THE LOMBARD COBOfUNBS

cities nearest to the Mark. He also sought to attach the
feudal lords more firmly to himself by large concessionsi
and took measures to put the castles in his hands in a
state of defence. Much of his time at Pavia was taken
up in negotiations with Pisa and Genoa, intended to
secure naval help from these cities in his projected expe-
dition against Sicily. Finally, having made matters
secure, as he thought, in Central Lombardy, he set out
in the autumn of 1164 for Germany, there to personally
urge on the levying of an army which would make him
completely master of Italy.

But he was now, like his predecessors, destined to find
what an impossible task it was to maintain control over
both his Italian and his German dominions, and what a
danger to the Imperial authority was any quarrel with
the Roman ponti£F. Disorders in Germany, many of
them originating from dislike to his ecclesiastical policy,
kept Frederick fully occupied north of the Alps ; and
two years elapsed before he could once more appear in
Italy at the head of an army.

His opponents had made use of this respite in order to
strengthen themselves. Alexander III. quitting France,
where he had found shelter for some years past, estab-
lished himself once more in Rome, and helped by the
Normans, extended his power over a great part of central
Italy. The cities of the Veronese Mark secured the
defiles by which an army from Tyrol must enter their
province, and extended their authority over the feudal
lords in their neighbourhood.

In the rest of Lombardy the cities remained quiet. We
have a grievous picture of their condition from the pen
of the staunch Imperialist writer Morena. He says of
the Imperial Governors : " Unjustly did they exact more
than seven times that which the Emperor wished^ and
oppressed bishops, marquises, counts, cities, consuls and
captains, and almost all other Lombards, rich and poor,
because they knew that no one, through love or fear of
the Emperor, would dare to breathe a protest; yet no
one could endure such a weight without being reduced
to extremities." He then gives a long list of the par-

THE LOMBARD LEAGUE 129

ticuiar vexations, and continues : "Therefore the Lom-
bards, oppressed more than I have said, they who were
accustomed to live at ease, and without any restriction of
their freedom to dispose as they liked of their own a£Fairs,
held this new and hard servitude as the greatest of dis-
graces, sajring amongst themselves that it was better to
die than to endure that great shame, that great infamy.
Yet, however, they delayed always to take violent
measures to change this manner of life, or to do or plan
anjrtfaing evil, nor was there any Lombard, as far as I at
any rate saw, or heard from others, who took any
measures to avenge himself, for they ever daily expected
the arrival of the Emperor, saying one and all, ' We do
not believe that what evil and shame the officers of the
Emperor work on us, that they do according to the will
of the Emperor/"

At length, in the autumn of 1166, Frederick set out
towards Italy at the head of a great army. The passes
from Tyrol into the Mark were closed against him by
the Veronese ; he, therefore, took a side route, branching
off from the main Brenner road and descended into
Central Lombardy by the Val Camonica. It is signifi-
cant of the extent to which general oppression had
stilled old enmities and excited a common feeling of
hostility to the foreigner, that Brescia and Bergamo, long
at deadly feud, were now alike opposed to the Emperor,
who ravaged their territories impartially. Even Cre-
mona itself, up to now so faithful, seems to have taken
up an attitude of hostility.

So far, however, the cities proceeded to no overt acts.
Frederick halted at Lodi, where a great crowd of sup-
pliants from all classes and from all parts presented
themselves before him imploring relief from the exac-
tions of the o£ficiaIs. At first, on hearing their com-
plaints, the Emperor showed himself touched by them ;
but at length, according to Morena, "as if despising the
complaints of the Lombards and holding them of no
account, he did nothing in the matter."

This treatment brought the exasperation of the Lom-
bards to the highest point ; but for the moment they

130 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

were powerless against the great force at the Emperor's
command. Having completed his preparations, Frederick
set out on his march towards Rome. He had determined
on concentrating all his efforts with a view to making
himself master of that city, and then proceeding to the
conquest of South Italy. Part of his army advanced
through Tuscany; and the Pisans and Genoese had
promised their co-operation by sea. The Emperor him-
self took the way of the Via Emilia towards Romagna,
meaning to threaten the borders of the Norman kingdom,
and then advance on Rome through Central Italy. He
seems to have calculated that once Alexander and King
William of Sicily were conquered, he could deal at leisure
with the cities of the Veronese Mark. This calculation
was no doubt sound except in one point ; he had com-
pletely overlooked the possibility that the confederacy
begun in the Marie might extend itself over the rest of the
Valley of the Po.

But this was what actually happened. The oppressions
of the Imperial governors increased still more when
Frederick had quitted Lombardy, until finally, towards
the end of February, 1167, the three cities, Cremona,
Mantua, and Bergamo, united with their former enemy,
Brescia, to devise measures to free themselves from the
yoke now grown intolerable. Inspired by the example
of the cities of the Trevisan Mark, and, urged no doubt
by their emissaries, they bound themselves to resist all
oppression, and not to submit to any burdens more than
they had been accustomed to during the century previous
to the death of Conrad III.

The first congress, a secret one, seems to have taken
place at Bergamo ; a few days later another was held
at Cremona, at which representatives from the Milanese
were present. The hard fate of Milan had excited
sympathy even amongst those cities which had been
her most inveterate enemies ; a common oppression had
drawn all Lombards together to resist the foreigner, and
so the Milanese were gladly received as members of the
League.

Finally, on April 7th, another meeting was held

THE LOMBARD LEAGUE 131

at the monastery of Pontida, on the borders of the
territories of Brescia and Bc^-gamo ; the League was
again solemnly sworn to ; and a determination was
taken which would infallibly plunge the confederates
into war with the Emperor, nothing less than the
decision to rebuild Milan and restore its scattered
citizens to their homes.

This last meeting, and the decision arrived at, could
not long remain secret. The Pavesans and the Imperial
Governor, the Count of Diez, seemed likely to forestall
the confederates by falling upon the Milanese left without
means of defence in their four villages. These latter
now experienced the same agonies of fear which years
before they had inflicted on the inhabitants of Lodi.
Some of the inhabitants of Pavia were connected by
ties of friendship with leading Milanese, and to these
they sent warnings that their total extirpation was con-
templated. Even if their lives were spared, their homes
were to be laid waste and their property seized. Terrified
by these messages, some of the more wealthy sent their
goods for safety to Como and Bergamo, even to Pavia
itself, others fled with what they could carry off ; the
multitude expected at any moment the advance of a
ruthless enemy.

At length, on April 27th, a troop of horsemen was
seen advancing towards the village of San Dionigi.
Terror gave place to joy when they were found to be
ten knights of Bergamo bearing the banners of that
Commune, and followed by its citizens in battle array.
Then came the banners of Brescia, then of Cremona,
and the forces of these cities. The Milanese assembled
from their villages, and all proceeded joyfully to the
desolate site of Milan. Here the citizens and their allies
set to work to restore the ditches and rebuild the city
walls. The work of rebuilding their houses was left
until the more pressing needs of defence had been
provided for. The confederate forces, among which
apparently are to be counted representatives of Mantua,
Ferrara, and the cities of the Trevisan Mark, remained
until the city was once more in a condition to resist

132 THB LOMBARD OOlOfUNES

attack. Universal enthusiasm speeded on the work;
the women gave their jewels to adorn the restored
churches, and in a short space of time Milan had once
more taken its place among the cities of Lombardy.
Some of the gates erected on this occasion and adorned
with rude sculptures remain to this day, memorials of
the uprising of a people against its oppressors.

While these events were taking place in Lombardy,
Barbarossa was in Romagna engaged in establishing his
power over the cities of that province. It id curious
that we possess scarcely any account of his proceedings
during this period, nor of the motives which caused him
to spend more than six months in this part of Italy
without either advancing against Rome or taking measures
to check at once the commencements of the Lombard
uprising.

The League was rapidly gaining strength. Piacenza,
Parma,' and Perrara joined it, and the Imperial officials
seem to have been expelled without difficulty from the
confederated cities.

After the rebuilding of Milan it became of supreme
importance to the League to win over to their cause
Lodi, which from its situation between Cremona and
Milan would enable the Emperor to drive a wedge
between the members of the League, and would, as in
previous campaigns, give him a secure basis of operations
against Milan.

The Cremonese, as old allies of the Lodesans, were
charged with the task of winning them over to the
general cause. Twice their deputies proceeded to Lodi
to entreat the burghers no longer to give aid to the
oppressor of the Lombards, and to join the League
which aimed at winning back the ancient privileges
of the cities. But their entreaties, urged even by the
deputies on their knees, could not overcome the feelings
of gratitude of the Lodesans. To them Frederick was
the restorer of their city, the protector of their freedom

' Parma apparently not without some resistance, for the Chronican
Parmense declares that in 1167 the'^Milites Parmenses " defeated
Piacenza, Cremona, Brescia, and Mantua. -

Milan.
Porta Ticinbse.

> face page 13a,

THE LOMBARD LEAGUE 133

against the ambition of the Milanese ; they declared that
the confederates were traitors to the sovereign for whom
they were resolved, if necessary, to sacrifice their property
and their lives.

Stronger methods were now tried. A last embassy
threatened the city with destruction and its inhabitants
with death. But these menaces could not shake the
constancy of the men of Lodi, who declared that they
could never believe that their former allies and pro-
tectors of Cremona would now join with their enemies ;
but that even if this were so they would still hold fast
to their oath of fidelity to the Emperor. Upon this the
allied cities advanced their forces and shut in Lodi on
every side. The burghers defended themselves for a
time with courage ; but food began to fail ; they saw
their territory devastated ; no help came from Frederick;
and, yielding at last to force, they submitted and joined
the iJeague.

From Lodi the army marched against the Castle of
Trezzo, and took it after a stout resistance, obtaining
possession of much treasure which Frederick had de-
posited there as in one of his chief strongholds.

Towards the beginning of July Barbarossa took the
o£Fensive* He seems to have believed that he might
safely neglect the afiairs of Lombardy until he had
entirely subdued the Pope and the Normans. Deprived
of these allies, the Lombards, so it seemed to him, would
neither dare nor be able to resist his arms.

Instead of at once attacking Rome he first turned against
Ancona. This important port had lately grown powerful
through extensive commerce. Its trade with the East
brought it into close connection with the Greek Empire ;
and the citizens had lately acknowledged the authority of
Manuel Comnenus, and had received a Greek garrison.
It seemed to Barbarossa highly dangerous to leave un-
taken in his rear a city from which Greeks or Normans
might easily intercept his communications with Romagna,
and which afforded Manuel a foothold from which to
extend his influence over Italy.

He therefore laid siege to Ancona, which offered a

134 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES "I

vigorous defence. At the end of three weeks, however,
both parties were inclined towards a compromise. ^
Ancona gave hostages as a pledge of neutrality, and |
a large sum of money ; and Frederick hurried on towards
Rome. Here he met at first with complete success. The |
part of the city lying round St. Peter's was taken after
a brave defence ; and the Romans, who had up to now
given a vigorous support to Alexander, were detached
from his cause by negotiations. The Pope, after holding
out for some time in the fortresses of the Frangipani in
and around the Colosseum, escaped from the city and
fled into the territories of King William of Sicily, and
Frederick and the Antipope Paschal entered Rome in
triumph.

Frederick and his consort were once more solemnly
crowned ; and it seemed as if the conquest of Naples and
Apulia was only a matter of time. But an unexpected
disaster shattered all his hopes of victory. Owing to the
prevalence of malaria the neighbourhood of Rome is
extremely dangerous in summer to foreigners, and even
to natives. Besides this, the heat of the Italian summer
requires, in order to preserve health, a moderation in eat-
ing and drinking, of which the German invaders of Italy
have at all times shown themselves incapable. The
month of August which followed Frederick's entry into
Rome was extremely hot ; a sudden torrential rainfall
was succeeded by even greater heat. The result was
a devastating pestilence, which, in the space of a
week, carried off an immense multitude of soldiers,
and which seemed to that age the direct vengeance of
Heaven for the attack on the Holy City and the lawful
pontiff.

Frederick's great army was annihilated. Eight Bishops,
Duke Frederick of Swabia, son of the Emperor Conrad,
Duke Welf the younger of Bavaria, six Counts, more than
two thousand knights, besides an immense multitude of
the common folk, were carried off. Of the survivors,
some, in expiation of their sins, embraced the monastic
life, others abandoned the army, and sought to escape to
their homes, others were so weakened by disease that

THE LOMBARD LEAGUE 135

they were henceforth useless.' Nothing was left to
Frederick but to retreat to the more healthy climate of
Tuscany, leaving a garrison behind him to protect the
Antipope. By September he was in the neighbourhood
of Lucca, having lost two thousand more troops on the
march, and with no force left to face the army of the
Lombard League.

The direct road over the Apennines, from Lucca to the
valley of the Po, leads up the valley of the Magra to a
pass which is commanded by the small town of Pontre-
moli. The inhabitants of this place, aided by the
Lombards, held the pass in force ; and the Emperor,
unable to force his way through, was only saved from
destruction by the help of the Marquis Obizzo Malaspina,
lord of extensive fiefs in the mountain districts. Under
his guidance the remnant of the Imperial forces was led
through difficult side roads amongst the mountains, and,
not without loss, arrived at Pavia.

Frederick now summoned all his loyal subjects to meet
him in this city with all their forces, in order to chastise
the Lombards. The call was answered only by Como,
Novara, and Vercelli, the Marquises of Montferrat and
Malaspina, the Count of Biandrate, and the Lords of
Belforte, Seprio, and Martesana. The assembly took
place towards the end of September ; and Frederick,
casting his glove on the ground, declared his purpose of
chastising the revolted cities, and put them to the ban of
the Empire. From this decree were excepted only Lodi,
which had yielded to force, and Cremona, which the
Emperor hoped either to win back to her former loyalty,
or to make an object of suspicion to the rest of the
confederates.

A war of raids and skirmishes now began, in which the
territories of Milan and Piacenza suffered considerably.
But Frederick, with his scanty forces, could not venture
on any important move against his opponents. Their
strength was increasing every day. New cities had joined

' Amongst those who perished special mention must be made of
the historian Acerbus Morena, and of the warlike Archbishop of
Cologne, one of Frederick's most talented and devoted servants.

136 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

the League, including the powerful Bologna. Frederick's
menaces only had the effect of inciting the Lombards to
a closer union, and of merging into one the confederacies
of the Veronese Mark and of Lombardy proper. In
December the Societas Lombardiae, as the confederates
called themselves, renewed the oath of association, and
took measures to define the objects for which they were
striving, and to provide for internal union. Besides the
four cities of the Mark and Venice, this oath was sub-
scribed by the deputies of Milan, Bergamo, Lodi,
Cremona, Brescia, Mantua, Ferrara, Bologna, Modena,
Panna, and Piacenza.

As Frederick found that with the troops at his disposal
he could make no head against his opponents, he deter-
mined to recross the Alps to gather a new army. In
March, 1168, he set out secretly with only a few followers,
and took the road over Mont Cenis. He carried with him
some Lombard hostages. One of these, a Brescian noble,
he hanged at Susa, the last town on the Italian side of the
pass. The townsmen, irritated by this, and encouraged
by the small numbers of Frederick's followers, took up
arms, and forced him to release the remaining prisoners.
It is even said that some of them formed a plot to murder
him, and that his life was saved only by one of his
nobles, who, the plot having been discovered, took his
master's place, while the latter fled in disguise with only
five followers. In this manner did Barbarossa, his plans
of conquest shattered, arrive once more in his Gernuin
territories.

The affairs of Germany once more retained Frederick
beyond the Alps, and this time for nearly seven years.
The League had, then, an unequalled opportunity to
extend and consolidate its power. Como, Novara, and
Vercelli now abandoned the Imperial cause, so did the
Lords of Seprio and Belforte, and Oberto Malaspina.
Asti, too, gave in its adhesion, and Tortona was restored
by the men of Parma and Piacenza, and the inhabitants
brought back to their homes. Tortona, of course, now
joined the League, and of the towns of Romagna, Ra-
venna, Rimini, Imola, and Forli followed this example.

THE LOMBARD LEAGUE 137

The object of the confederates, as appears from the
oath of association, was to free themselves from the
obligation '4o pay tributes or render services greater than
those which they had given or rendered from the time of
the Emperor Henry* to the entrance of Frederick."
With this end in view the cities swore to make neither
peace nor truce without the common consent, and to
prevent any army from beyond the mountains from
entering Italy, and if such should enter, to make war
until it had repassed the Alps. The League was to last
for fifty years, a common army was to be always ready,
the contingents and contributions of each city were to be
settled in proportion to its resources. No private enmities
were to be permitted between city and city, and all cases
of dispute were to be arranged by the League. To con-
duct the common affairs deputies from each city formed
a body of magistrates, who, under the name of Rectors,
formed the executive authority, and decided on measures
affecting the general safety.

Immediate results of this organisation were the settling
of disputes of old standing between various cities. Milan
renounced all claims to a supremacy over Como, Lodi,
and Novara ; Brescia and Cremona settied boundary dis-
putes, and so on in other cases. The unfortunate burghers
of Crema alone seem to have reaped no advantage. As
a concession no doubt to Cremona, they were not restored
either to their city or to their independent existence.

It will be seen, however, that no real organised
federation was established. The League remained a
mere confederation of independent cities, bound together
by a common danger, but united by no regular constitu-
tion, and without any central body to which each member
had parted with some of its sovereign rights. It was
impossible that it could have been otherwise in that age.
The idea of the Imperial power was too deeply rooted in
the minds of the Italians of the twelfth century for them
to have any notion of independence. They were not
fighting against the Imperial prerogatives ; they did not
aim at freeing Lombardy from a foreign yoke ; their
" Apparently Henry V.

138 THE LOMBARD C0MMT7NES

object was merely to restrain the sovereign within the
limits of what they conceived to be their legal rights.
Once these were conceded, they were, on their side, ready
to declare themselves faithful subjects of the Emperor.
It was not until nearly a century and a half later that we
find in Lombardy, and still more in Tuscany, men who
dared to limit their allegiance to a mere verbal acknow-
ledgment of the Imperial supremacy.

And, besides, to establish a regular federative constitu-
tion would have meant the surrender of some or all of
the very things for which they were fighting — liberty to
make peace and war, freedom from outside interference
with their own concerns, freedom, too, from taxation
imposed by an outside body. The spirit of particularism,
the jealousy between city and city was too deeply im-
planted in the Italian mind to make at this junction any-
thing more than a loose temporary union possible.

For the moment, however, this organisation sufficed.
The ever-faithful Pavia and the Marquis of Montferrat
remained almost the sole supporters of Frederick between
the Alps and the Apennines, and they could not hope
long to resist the superior forces of their enemies. To
isolate them from one another, and to oppose an obstacle
to invasion from the West, the confederates determined
to found a city at a spot where the junction of the Tanaro
and the Bormida offers great facilities for defence. In a
marshy plain, whose heavy soil oflFered obstacles to the
heavy cavalry of the age, the forces of Milan, Cremona,
and Piacenza marked out a site of which the strategic
advantages have been proved time and again in subse-
quent Italian campaigns. To this place the inhabitants
of five neighbouring villages were transported, houses
were built for them, fortifications marked out. Many
considerable families from the various cities of the
League were induced to take up their residence there, a
Bishopric was founded, and the new bulwark against
aggression received the name of Alessandria, a fitting
mark of respect from the Lombards to the Pontiff who
was the patron of their association and their most
efficient ally. So rapidly did the new foundation grow

THE LOMBABD LEAGUE 130

that two years after its foundation Alessandria was able
to take part with fifteen thousand men in a campaign
against Montferrat

The Lombards now attacked Frederick's remaining
supporters. Biandrate was taken and its castle rased by
the burghers of Novara, Vercelli, Milan, Lodi, and Brescia*

Next came the turn of Pavia. We have no details of
the campaign against this steadfast city ; but in or about
1 170 it too was forced to enter into the League. Two
years later the Marquis of Montferrat, defeated in battle,
had to yield up lands and castles to purchase peace, and
to swear that he would be obedient in all things to the
Rectors of the Society of Lombardy.

It was no doubt during this period that the subjuga-
tion of the feudal lords in the Lombard plain became
complete. The restoration of the Imperial authority
had meant for them freedom from the yoke which the
cities had already imposed on them, so that they were
naturally inclined to range themselves on the side of
Frederick ; though we learn from Morena that they too
had suffered from the oppressions of the Imperial officers.
Unfortunately for us no contemporary Lombard writer
was inspired to write the history of the struggle of his
compatriots for freedom. The history of the Morenas
ends with Frederick's withdrawal across the Alps, and we
have to depend on German or ecclesiastical writers and
the bare chronicles of Sire Raoul of Milan and Bishop
Sicard of Cremona for our knowledge of the later phases
of the war. We would wish to have some idea as to the
personality of the men who dared to plan a general
uprising against the Emperor, of the statesmen who
reconciled the jarring elements of the League and gave
unity to its councils. We feel sure that many stirring
incidents, sieges of castles, campaigns against the feudal
lords, would have been worthy of our attention ; but all
knowledge of this kind is unhappily lost to us. We only
know that by 1174 the authority of the League had been
extended over all the feudal lords from Turin to the
Venetian sea-coast, that the Marquises of Montferrat,
Malaspina, and Este, the Counts of Biandrate and

140 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

Camino, not to mention many other less powerful nobles,
had all sworn to obey the commands of the Rectors of
the League.

One incident of this period, a discreditable one, has
been preserved to us. Como took an opportunity to
wipe off her old scores against the inhabitants of Isola.
Probably the islanders had not joined the League ; at
any rate the men of Como made a descent on the island
in 1 169, and completely destroyed the town. Of nine
churches only one was left, and those of the inhabitants
who escaped the sword were obliged to abandon their
homes and settle at Varenna in the territory of Milan.
The island has remained uninhabited to this day ; a rich
vegetation covers the site where once rose houses and
towers, the home of a hardy race of warriors ; and the
deserted spot preserves among one of the fairest scenes
of Italy the memory of the implacable enmities which
once distracted the peninsula.

The interval between the subjugation of Pavia and
Montferrat and Frederick's reappearance in Italy was the
most flourishing period of the League. Thirty-six towns,
great and small, in Piedmont, Lombardy, Emilia, the
Veronese Mark, and Romagna were enrolled in it ; and in
all the wide valley of the Po there were no feudal lords
who dared to remain on the side of the Empire.' In the
rest of Italy, however, the Imperial authority was still
strong. The powerful Genoa had been won over to
Frederick's side by lavish concessions ; and an attempt
of the Lombards to coerce the city by forbidding all
export of corn from Lombardy to Liguria was of no
avail, although the inhabitants of the two Rivieras
suffered for a time from famine. Tuscany, except the
allied cities of Pisa and Florence, was obedient to the
Empire ; and these two cities were not moved so much
by hostility to Frederick as by the enmity which existed

' Astii Alba, Acqui, Alessandria, Tortona, Bobbio, Vercelli,
Novara, Milan, Lodi, Pavia, Como, Bergamo, Brescia, Cremona,
Mantua, Piacenza, PontremoU, Parma, Reggio, Modena, Ferrara,
Verona, Vicenza, Padua, Treviso, Feltre, BeUuno, Ceneda, Venice,
Bologna, Imoia, Faenza, Ravenna, Rimini, San Cassiano (Lanzani,
p. 256).

THB LOltfBARD LEAGtTB 141

between Pisa and Genoa* Frederick's Legate in these
parts, Archbishop Christian of Mainz, who had succeeded
in passing with a small body of followers from the Alps
to the Genoese territory in 1171, and had then established
himself in Tuscany, foimd himself soon in a position to
raise a considerable army. His power extended from
Tuscany over a large part of Romagna, the Duchy of
Spoleto, and the Mark of Ancona.

Manuel Comnenus still maintained his hold on the city
of Ancona, and no doubt aimed at extending his authority
over Central Italy from this base. He had even hopes of
obtaining from the Pope and the Italians the crown of
the Western Empire. With this object in view he kept
up a close connection with the Lombards and the Pope,
sent large sums of money to the Italians, and concluded
an alliance with Pisa. He had not, however, succeeded
in keeping the friendship of the Venetians. Commercial
disputes had led to an open quarrel between Venice and
the Greek Empire, in the course of which the fleet of the
former had inflicted great damage on the islands of the
Archipelago, until* its progress was arrested by a destruc-
tive pestilence. Christian of Mainz considered that this
rupture gave him a favourable opportunity of seizing
Ancona^ and putting a stop to all danger of a further
extension of Greek influence in Italy.

Venice was still allied with the Lombards, but feared
the growing commercial prosperity of Ancona, and so
was led to listen favourably to Christian's overtures. In
the spring of 1174 the latter advanced with a large army
raised in Central Italy and attacked Ancona by land,
while a Venetian fleet cut off all communication on the
side of the sea.

We need not enter into the details of this siege. With
the sieges of Tortona, Crema, and Alessandria it offers
another example of the heroism of which the inhabitants
of the Italian Communes were capable in the defence of
their liberties. At the same time it shows the weakness
of the Lombard League for combined offensive action.
It was most important to the confederates that this city
should not succumb to Christian's arms, yet no concerted

142 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

eflfort was made for its relief, and it was due to the
exertions of a leading nobleman of Ferrara, Guglielmo
Marchesella, that an army was at length got together in
Lombardy and Romagna, which, combined with the
forces of the Countess of Bertinoro, compelled Christian
to retire at a moment when the city had been reduced
to the last extremity through hunger.

Frederick, in the meantime, had at last brought the
a£Fairs of Germany into a satisfactory state and had
collected an army for a new invasion of Italy. The
Lombards, by the adhesion of Como to the League, had
command of all the passes leading direct from Germany
over the Alps. The more open country on the north-
eastern frontier of Italy was defended by the fortified
cities of the Veronese Mark; and Frederick if he had
chosen this route would have found himself far from all
possible allies. But the north-western angle of the
peninsula was still open to him. The Count of Savoy,
firmly planted on both sides of the Alps, held the roads
over the Mont Cenis and the neighbouring passes ; and
his authority extended on the Italian side over the flat
country of Piedmont as far as Ivrea and Turin. These
cities, held in check by such a powerful lord, had not
made the same progress tovrards freedom as the other
communities of Lombardy. They had never entered the
League, and the latter^ feeling no doubt its weakness for
offensive warfare, had never made any attempt to bring
this region under its control, and so secure all the
entrances into Lombardy.

Frederick, then, entered Italy on this side in October,
1 174. 1 Crossing the Mont Cenis, he burned Susa in
revenge for the insult received from its townsmen when,
more than six years before, he had passed through it as
a fugitive. Turin received him without opposition, and
he found himself in possession of a friendly country as a
base for further operations, and in touch with his allies
the Genoese and the numerous feudal lords of Piedmont.
Pavia and Montferrat, as soon as they heard of his

' Frederick's return to Italy almost coincided with the raising of
the siege of Ancona (Leo, vol. ii. p. 96).

THE LOMBARD LEAGUE 143

approach, broke away from the League, and joyfully
returned to their former allegiance.

With a large army he advanced on Asti, the most im-
portant city in all that region. The confederates exhorted
the burghers to resist, promising help ; but the townsmen,
terrified by the strength of the hostile army, or, as the
Lombards believed, secretly inclined in Frederick's favour,
surrendered with scarcely a show of resistance. From
Asti the Imperial army, swollen by the contingents of
Pavia and Montforrat, directed its course on Alessandria.

Though six years had elapsed since the foundation of
this city, it had not yet been fortified with solid walls
and towers. A ditch and a hastily constructed rampart
formed its only defences ;> and this slender fortification
joined with the lowly aspect of the houses, most of which
were thatched with straw, excited the derision of the
Imperial host who named it " the town of straw," a title
which the heroism of its citizens has made into one of
honour with succeeding ages. Frederick hoped that he
would easily make himself master of this city, which had
been founded in direct opposition to his interests.

The courage of the townsmen made up for the weak-
ness of their fortifications. They had, indeed, at first
thought of flight, but a torrential rainfall, which laid
under water the marshy district round the city, seemed
to them a direct interposition of Heaven in their favour,
and encouraged them to resist. A direct assault failed,
and the burghers, sallying forth, captured the machines
of the besiegers and forced them to fly to their camp.
Frederick, in spite of the murmurs of his followers, did
not abandon the siege on account of tl)is check. Autumn
merged into winter ; the season was of unusual rigour :
the marshy ground bred disease amongst the troops, and
still the siege went on. Both sides displayed the greatest
resolution ; both sides, too, mingled acts of devotion
with deeds of cruelty such as had marked the siege of
Crema. The swampy nature of the soil rendered siege

' According to the life of Pope Alexander III. by tiie Cardinal of
Amigony there were no walls or towers. Of the other authorities
some agree with this statement, others differ from it

144 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

operations difficult ; but after nearly six months of siege
hunger began to prevail inside the city.

With the approach of spring the Lombards determined
to make a vigorous effort to relieve their allies. A large
army was assembled near Piacenza, and set out, followed
by a great supply of provisions, towards the beleaguered
town. On hearing of its approach Frederick determined
on a final effort. His engineers had driven a mine right
into the heart of the city ; and, on the night before Good
Friday, when the besieged were trusting to the sanctity
of the day, or, if we may believe contemporary writers
hostile to the Emperor, were reposing on the security of
a truce offered by Frederick himself, a chosen band of
warriors made their way through it into the great square.
But the alarm was soon given, the burghers flew to arms ;
of the assailants some were slain by the sword, others
flung themselves from the ramparts, the rest were
smothered in the mine through the falling in of the roof
and the inflow of water from the city ditch. > Then the
townsmen, encouraged by this success, threw open the
gates, and led, as they believed, by St. Peter on a white
horse, flung themselves on the hostile camp. A wooden
tower filled with soldiers ready to be drawn to the final
assault was set on fire and all in it destroyed, and the
burghers worked havoc among the engines of war and
even in the camp of the assailants.

In the meantime the Lombard army had reached the
neighbourhood of Tortona. Frederick, with his weakened
army, saw himself forced to raise the siege. On the
following night he set fire to his camp, and set out
towards Pavia. (jis road led him close to the con-
federates, who, greatly superior in numbers, barred his
progress. Neither party would risk a decisive action.
The majesty of the Imperial name had still such weight
with the Lombards that they did not dare to be the first
to join battle. On the other hand, the Emperor was
loath to begin an unequal combat. He encamped, there-
fore, close to the enemy, without making any hostile
move against them. Next day moderate men of both
< This seems to be the meaning of Romoald of Salerno.

THE LOMBARD LEAGUE 145

parties came forward with proposals for a pacification.
They were welcomed by each side, and the bases of an
agreement were settled. Six arbitrators were chosen,
three by each party, who were to decide on the points
of variance between the Emperor and the Lombards,
who each promised to abide by their decision. The
arUtrators were to. bring about an agreement by the
middle of the next May ; in the meantime the Emperor
was to proceed undisturbed to Pavia, and the Lombards
to retire to their homes.

Both parties had now great hopes of peace. A large
part of Frederick's troops returned home ; and he himself
invited the Pc^e to send legates to find a means for a
final pacification between Church and State. In the
meantime the Emperor's affairs were prospering. Como,
which had joined the League only through compulsion,
now declared for Frederick, and so the direct route
between Lombardy and Germany was once more opened
to him. In Romagna, Imola, Faenza, Ravenna, Rimini,
and the small town of San Cassiano had been members
of the League. But Romagna like Lombardy was dis-
tracted by jealousy between city and city. Imola, for
example, was constantly at variance with Bologna and
had apparently only joined the League after a series of
defeats at the hands of her rival. Christian of Mainz,
after his unsuccessful siege of Ancona, had turned his
attention to Romagna, and with the help of Forli and
other towns, of the feudal lords, who still for the most
part in Romagna had not fallen under the yoke of the
cities, and of troops from Tuscany, was soon able to
make himself master of the greater part of the province,
ip bring Imola, Faenza, and Rimini over to the Imperial
party and to harass the territory of Bologna. Nearly
all Central Italy as far as Rome was now obedient to
Frederick, and he had at last succeeded in bringing
about peace between his allies Genoa and Lucca and the
Pisans, and in attaching all three cities to his cause.
Besides, he had hopts of inducing Cremona to return to
its old allegiance. The forces of that city had been so
slow in setting out to join the army got together for the

146 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

relief of Alessandria that they had only reached Piacenza
when the Lombards, after their truce with Frederick,
were returning home. This slackness was deemed by
many to be due to a want of loyalty to the League
amongst the consuls of the city ; and though the people,
indignant at what had happened, rose in riot, pillaged the
houses of the consuls and deposed them from their office,
the Lombards had begun to regard the city with sus-
picion. Frederick now increased this by naming the
consuls of Cremona as final arbitrators in case the six
commissioners for peace could not agree.

All these causes combined to make Frederick still put
forward high pretensions at the congress which followed
at Pavia. Yet his attitude towards the Papal legates
whom he had invited to assist at it was, as far as forms
went, most conciliatory. In substance, however, he was
less accommodating, and it was soon found that the con-
flicting pretensions of all parties could not be reconciled.
The Lombards demanded complete amnesty for the past,
and terms which practically amounted to the entire
abolition of the decrees of the Diet of Roncaglia and the
recognition of all the privileges which they had enjoyed
under Barbarossa's three predecessors ; while yielding
on their side provisions for the Imperial army when the
sovereign marched to be crowned at Rome and military
service from the holders of fiefs.

Frederick, on his side, demanded that the cities
should abide by the decisions taken at Roncaglia,
merely promising to correct abuses. Between Pope
and Emperor, too, no terms of agreement could be
arrived at The former, indeed, seemed no longer to
associate his cause so closely with that of the Lombards,
but Frederick's demands before consenting to a recon-
ciliation were so high — at least according to the ecclesi-
astical historian — ^that the legates declared their consent
to them impos^ble, and the whole negotiations were
broken ofiF.

Hostilities were therefore once more renewed. The
Lombards attached the territories of Como and the
other allies of Frederick; he laid waste the lands of

THE LOMBARD LEAGUE 147

Alessandria^ while awaiting a new army from beyond
the Alps. At the other extremity of the Lombard plain
Christian of Mainz again took the field and captured San
Cassiano, after which he inflicted considerable damage
on the Bolognese.

An unexpected difficulty came to weaken the help
which the Emperor was expecting from Germany.
Henry the Lion, head of the House of Guelf, Duke of
Bavaria and Saxony, and the most powerful of the
German vassals, refused to obey the Imperial summons.
An interview between the two at Chiavenna failed to
induce Henry to return to his obedience, even though
the Emperor fell on his knees* before him in the
endeavour to shake his purpose. Once more the impos-
sibility was shown of controlling at once his dominions
north and south of the Alps, and it seemed better to
the Emperor to take no measures against Henry and
to concentrate all his forces against the Lombards.

In spite of Henry's defection, a considerable army
was collected in Germany ; and coming down through
the passes of the Grisons into the territory of Como,
was joined by the Emperor in that city.

At the head of this army and of the burghers of
Como he set out through the territory of Milan, in
order to effect a junction with the Pavesans and the
Marquis of Montferrat. The Milanese trembled for
their safety if the two armies should succeed in joining,
and marched out with their whole strength to intercept
the Emperor. With them were the cavalry of Brescia.
Verona, and all the Mark, five hundred horse from Lodi,
two hundred from Novara and Vercelli, and about the same
number from Piacenza.' Three hundred of the noblest
youtiis of Milan were formed into a company round
the Carroccio, and had sworn to die rather than let
that sacred emblem of the city fall into the hands of
the enemy. Nine hundred others, called the Company
of Death, had in like manner bound themselves to
conquer or to die.

' The infantry of Verona and Brescia guarded Milan (Sire Raoul.
Moratori).

148 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

The two armies met in the great plain between Busto
Arsizio and Legnano on the i^ of May, 1176, a
day for ever afterwards glorious in the annsds of Italy.
A cavalry skirmish brought on a general engagement.
At the first shock many of the Lombard horsemen
fled before the German cavalry ; and some, convinced that
the day was lost, did not stay their course until they
reached Milan. But the foot, first throwing themselves
on their knees for a moment, and invoking the protection
of their patrons Saint Peter and Saint Ambrose, stood
firm and boldly faced the enemy. Frederick, at the
head of his men, pressed on towards the Carroccio.
Already the battle wavered, the company of the Carroccio
was for a moment pressed back, and the car seemed lost,
when the Company of Death rushing forward attacked
the enemy with fury. The Imperial standard-bearer was
slain, Frederick himself was thrown to the ground,
and the cry arose that he was slain. The wavering
Lombard army rallied, and pressed on in its turn to
the attack ; the Germans were thrown into disorder ; and
the Brescians breaking from an ambush turned the
disorder into rout

The pursuit was urged for eight miles. Many of the
Imperial host were drowned in the waters of the Ticino,
and almost the entire contingent of Como was captured
or perished by the sword. The Imperial camp, with
a great booty, Frederick's weapons and banner fell
into the hands of the victors, together with many noble
prisoners. The news of the Emperor's death was
universally believed; the Empress, who had remained
in Baradello, clad herself in mourning; and it was
not until several days had clasped that the grief of
his followers was turned into joy by his appearance
almost alone before the sheltering walls of I^via.

Great as was the battie of Legnano, in which for
the first time the citizen militia of Italy had met and
overthrown in the open field the feudalism of Germany,
the immediate results of the victory were not very
striking. Como, indeed, was forced to re-enter the
League and to submit to severe conditions before

THE LOMBARD LEAGUE 149

recovering from the Milanese those of her sons who had
been taken prisoners. The Lombard army, too, appeared
before Pavia, but broke up at once to allow every man
to enjoy his triumph in his own home. But the effect
on Frederick was greaL He realised once for all the
uselessness of his efforts to subdue the Lombards by
force of arms, and turned to the surer ways of negotiation.
His first aim was a reconciliation with the Pope.
Alexander had long been recognised as Pope by the
rest of the Christian world; and Frederick determined
to renounce all farther effort to depose him from the
chair of Peter, or to make the indomitable old man yield
to his pretensions and give up the liberties which the
Papacy had wrested from the Emperors of the Fran-
conian line*

In the October following on the battle of Legnano
ambassadors were sent to Alexander, and were favourably
received by the pontiff, who was now growing old
and anxious to bring peace to the Church before his
death, and who had no personal animosity against
Frederic^ once he was willing to give up his attempts
to reduce the Papacy to subjection.

The main bases of a peace between Church and
Empire were soon agreed on. The Emperw recognised
Alexander as lawful Pontiff, and abandoned the Antipope.
On the other hand, he and his partisans were to be freed
from excommunication, and a certain number of the
prelates who he had appointed during the schism were
to be recognised. But, as the peace was to be a general
one, and as the affairs of Lombardy and of the King
of Sicily could not so easily be settled, it was arranged
to call together a congress to discuss in detail and
decide once for all the questions which had been the
cause of the struggle which had so long vexed Germany
and Italy.

Frederick now turned to negotiate with some of the
cities, offering them separately what they were demand-
ing collectively. Cremona gladly accepted his overtures.
Old friendship bound the city to Pavia; the renewed
prosperity of Milan was reviving the old animosity;

150 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

the citizens could not be without some feeling of
gratitude to the Emperor, under whose banners they
had taken vengeance on their rival. Frederick confirmed
to the city all the privileges which it claimed, and the
Cremonese openly renounced the League.

More surprising was the defection of Tortona, which
had suffered so much already at Frederick's hands. But
its isolated situation, exposed to attack on three sides
from Frederick's allies, Pavia, the Marquis of Montferrat,
and Genoa, had no doubt caused it to su£Fer more than
most cities from the war ; and the inhabitants preferred
a reconciliation with the Emperor, which would remove
from them once for all the danger of another destruction
at the hands of Pavia, to the uncertain event of continued
hostilities. Alba and Acqui had by now gone over to
Frederick's side, so that Alessandria was now the only
member of the League in this portion of the peninsula.

In the April of 1177 Pope Alexander arrived at
Ferrara to confer with the Rectors of the League as
to the place of meeting with the plenipotentiaries of
the Emperor, and as to the demands to t>e put forward.
The Lombards seem to have feared that the Pope,
having in view only the interests of the Church, might
dissociate his cause from theirs ; they clearly gave
him to understand that they intended to insist on the
recognition of the liberties for which they had fought^
and that, as they had been the firmest bulwark of
the Papacy against the Empire, they now expected the
co-operation of the ponti£F in obtaining the satisfaction
of their demands.

The choice of the town in which the representatives
of all parties were to meet occasioned considerable
discussion. The Emperor objected to any of the to^xrns
which belonged to the League, and proposed Pavia
or Ravenna, cites obnoxious to the Lombards. Finally
he suggested Venice, ^though this proposition viras
at first objected to by the confederates, for Venice,
once the instigator and a member of the League, had,
without ever formally breaking with it, taken part for
Frederick against Ancona, yet, since the Pope and

Alexander III. Bestows a Sword on the Doge.
(Bassano.)

To face pagt 151.

THE LOMBARD LEAGUE 151

the King of Sicily agreed to it, they finally consented.
So great was the reverence inspired by the person of
the Emperor, that the Lombards insisted that the Doge
and twelve leading citizens should bind themselves by
oath to exclude the Emperor, from the city until the
Pope should allow him to enter. It was feared that
the mere presence of Frederick at the negotiations
would so overawe the deputies that they would not dare
to press their claims.

The congress opened at Venice in May. The peace
between Church and State had been practically arranged
already, so that the a£Fairs of the Lombards were hrst
entered on. At first the negotiations made but little
way. Frederick demanded that the Lombards should
either submit to the decrees of Roncaglia, or take as
the measure of their privileges those rights which they
had possessed in the time of Henry IV.

It was utterly impossible that the cities should agree to
either of these propositions, which would have deprived
them of nearly all that they had been fighting for. They,
on their side, put forward two proposals. They would
either render to the Emperor all those services which
they had rendered under his three predecessors, or would
take as a base of negotiations conditions drawn up by
the Cremonese, apparently during the negotiations after
^the siege of Alessandria. This last document was now
produced, but neither party could agree as to the mean-
ing of the various clauses. Long discussions followed,
and there seemed no pro^)ect of a settlement At length
the Pope, seeing clearly that if matters were pressed to a
settlement the whole negotiation would fall through, pro-
posed a truce/or six years, during which time the various
points which were uncertain might be fully investigated
and cleared up. After further lengthy negotiations,
during which, by consent of all parties, Frederick was
allowed to come to Chioggia, within a few miles of
Venice, the Emperor agreed to this, on condition, how-
ever, that he was for fifteen years to come to enjoy the
revenues of the inheritance of Matilda. After these
.fifteen years the rights of both parties to these much-

152 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

disputed lands were to be settled in accordance with
justice. The reconciliation of Pope and Emperor
was to take place at once ; and between Frederidc and
the King of Sicily there was to be a truce for fifteen
years.

Both parties were to be secured from mutual injuries
while the truce lasted ; both were to enjoy security for
person and goods in the lands of the other ; the L^goe
was to remain in vigour ; and two magistrates were to be
appointed in each Conunune to provide for any disputes
which might arise. As soon as the Emperor had sworn
to the truce, he and his supporters were freed from ex-
communication, he was invited to leave Chioggia, and
was escorted with great pomp to Venice. Here, amidst
scenes of the greatest pomp, die reconciliation of the two
heads of the Christian world took place. The spot is
still shown on the threshold of St Mark's where the
Pope bestowed the kiss of peace on his late adversary.
Later writers have distorted the history of these events
by ridiculous stories of Papal pride on this occasion ;
but all serious historians are agreed that nothing occurred
to mar the harmony of the reconciliation, and that Pope
and Emperor soon became fast friends.'

All matters of dispute between Church and Empire
were now satisfactorily arranged, and a general anmesty
for the past accorded by both sides. It is noticeabte
that among the prelates received back at this time into
the bosom of the Church were the Bishops of Padua,
Mantua, Piacenza, Brescia, and Novara. They had, no
doubt, followed the party of Frederick, hoping by his
aid to re-establish their old authority over their cities.

The solemn promulgation of peace and truce took
place on August ist, but Frederick lingered on in the
wealthy and delightful city until September. Great was
the concourse of prelates and nobles who flocked from
all parts to the festivities which celebrated the peace^

' The story that Alexander placed his foot on Frederick's neck,
exclaiming, " Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk/* though
consecrated by paintings in the Vatican executed in the time of
Pius IV., has no foundation in fact

THE LOMBARD LEAGUE 153

The number of knights is said to have amounted to 8400^
and Venice^ though far from having attained to the
architectural splendour and the opulence of later times,
was able to a£Ford entertainment for all, while the well-
otgamised government was able to maintain the most
perfect order in spite of the presence of such a multitude.

It may not be amiss to give a list of the partisans of
Frederick and of the members of the League who signed
the pacification of Venice. On the En^)eror's side were
Genoa and her three dependent allies, Savona, Albenga,
and Ventimiglia, Turin and Ivrea, which were now
attaining to a certain independence of the Counts of
Savoy and of their Bishops; Asti, Alba, Acqui, the Mar-
quis of Montferrat and those of Bosco and Vasto, who
were the chief of the feudal nobles in the Ligurian
Apennines ; Tortona, Casale, Monvelio, Pavia, Cremona,
the Counts of Lomello and Biandrate, and, in Romagna,
Imola, Faenza, Castel Bolognese, Ravenna, Rimini,
Cesena, Forli, Forlimpopoli, and Castrocaro. The
League numbered among its members Venice, Treviso,
Padua, Vicenza, Verona, Mantua, Ferrara, Bologna,
Brescia, Bergamo, Lodi, Milan, Como, Novara, Vercelli,
Alessandria, Bobbio, Piacenza, Parma, Reggio, Modena,
Belmonte, Carnesino, the Marquis Malaspina, and the
men of San Cassiano and Etoccia.

The six years of the truce passed without any further
troubles in Lombardy. Our information as to what
measures were actually taken to investigate what the
rights of the various cities were is of the scantiest ; it
appears, however, that Frederick, though scrupulously
observing the truce, considered himself free to treat
separately with the individual cities. Thus Como with-
drew from the League, and received in return the most
ample concessicMis, the cession of the Imperial castles of
Baradello and Olonio, and jurisdiction over all Captains
and Valvassors in the diocese, including the Valtellina.

The many changes of side by Como during this period
give us the first example of the rapid mutations so fre-
quent in later Italian history. Here, as later, these
changes were no doubt due to the fact that factions had

154 THE LOMBABD COMMUNES

appeared in the town which alternately gained the upper
hand, thus inaugurating one of the most striking features
in the history of the Communes.

The defection of Como was balanced to some extent
by the re-entry of Faenza into the League. The Em-
peror's diplomacy, however, was rewarded by a striking
success. Early in 1183 Alessandria made a separate
peace with him. It is hard to see what arguments this
town, founded in defiance of Frederick, could have
brought forward at the close of the truce to substantiate
its claim to stand on the same footing as other cities. Its
burghers feared the total destruction of the town ; so, to
make their status secure, they turned to seek the Imperial
favour.' This was granted them on a rather curious
condition. On a given day all the inhabitants left the
city, and at some distance outside the walls were met by
a deputy of the Emperor, who, on receiving from them
an oath of fidelity, led them back to their homes, and
then gave them the right of electing their consuls, and of
enjoying all the privileges which he had already conceded
to Tortona and Pavia. In memory of this favour the
name of the city was to be changed to Caesarea, but this
name, at first used in legal documents, soon fell into
disuse, and the city still preserves for us the name of the
great pontiff, the protector of the free cities of Lombardy.

Alexander III. had died in 1181. His virtues and his
abilities make him rank among the greatest of the Popes.
His zeal never led him into excess, and his constancy in
adversity and moderation in good fortune enabled him
to establish once for all the liberties of the Church on a
secure foundation.

The truce expired in 1183. Frederick had no desire to
renew the war ; and delegates were sent by him to a
congress at Piacenza to arrange a lasting peace. After
all preliminaries were settled the delegates of the Lom-
bards proceeded to Constance, where in a great assembly

* Alessandria was built on ground belonging to the Marquises of
Bosco. The inhabitants had previously anranged matters with
them, acknowledging them as their feudal superiors. The consuls
were to receive investiture from them.

THE LOMBARD LEAGUE 155

the peace known as the Peace of Constance, the Magna
Charta, as it has been styled, of the liberties of the Com-
munes, was solemnly promulgated.

Reflection on Frederick's part as to the dangers of
once more entering into a contest with the Lombards,
and the wishes of his son Henry, anxious to be formally
recognised as King of the Romans, caused him to recede
from the pretensions which he had put forward at Venice.
The cities obtained what they had been fighting for.
They were granted all their customs, and the Regalian
rights within the walls, and in the dependent districts
all those which they actually exercised or had exercised
in the past, namely, the rights of peace and war, of erect-
ing fortifications, rights to the fodero;^ the woods, pas-
tures, waters, bridges, and mills, jurisdiction in civil and
criminal matters. Where the exact extent of these con-
cessions was uncertain, the matter was to be decided by
the Bishop, aided by impartial assessors. If they pre-
ferred not to submit to this inquiry they were to enjoy
all rights on the payment of 2,000 marks yearly, or less if
this sum seemed excessive. They were to freely elect
the consuls, who were then to be invested by the
Emperor ; and this investiture was to be repeated every
five years. In those cities where the Bishop possessed
. the rights of the former royal count the consuls were to
be invested by him.

On the other hand, all the inhabitants between the
ages of fifteen and seventy were to take the oath of
allegiance to the Emperor ; and all Imperial vassals were
to do homage for their fiefs. The right of appeal in
cases of the value of more than 25 lire was reserved to
the Imperial legate for each city, who was to judge in
accordance with the customs of each. The cities were
to aid the Emperor in maintaining the Imperial rights
against all who were not members of the League ; they
were to pay him the customary fodero on his entering
Lombardy, and to maintain the roads and bridges and to

' The fodro, or fodero, was a tax in money or kind levied to sup-
port the military forces of the Emperor. In f ature the Emperor
was only to receive it when he was actually in Lombardy.

IM THE LOMBARD OOICMUNES

supply him with a market* In return the Emperor was
not to make an unnecessary delay in any city or diocese.
There were numerous other minor points settled, in
especial the jurisdiction of Milan over the counties of
Seprio, Martesana, Burgaria, and others was recognised,
saving all the r^hts of Bergamo, Lodi, and Novara.
There was to be a complete amnesty on both sides for
the past, and all grants made during the war to the
detriment of the Les^ue were annulled.

Finally the names were given of the confederate cities,
seventeen in number, to which these terms were granted*
With the exception of Venice, Ferrara, Como, and Ales-
sandria, and the addition of Faenza, they are tiie same as
those of the cities given as members of the League at the
Truce of Venice. Venice, as being an independent state,
had no need of any concessions ; Como and Alessandria
had already made a separate peace. To Ferrara a delay
of two months was accorded, within which term it might
accede to the treaty. Of the smaller places named as
members of the League at the Congress of Venice,
Bobbio and San Cassiano are expressly excluded from
the Peace of Constance ; the three others are not men-
tioned. Likewise were excluded Imola^ Gravedona,'
Feltre, Belluno, and Ceneda. We cannot give any
reason for the exclusion of Imola and Bobbio ; of the
others, Gravedona and San Cassiano were small places,
jurisdiction over which was claimed by Como and
Imola respectively ; Feltre, Belluno, and Ceneda, which
are not mentioned at the Congress of Venice, but which
had at one time been members of the League, seem still
to have been under the rule of their Bishops.

Finally, as allies of the Emperor are named Genoa,
Pavia, Cremona, Como, Tortona, Alessandria, or Caesarea,
Asti, and Alba. The first six had all received special
grants from Frederick, so no doubt had the two others.
We find no mention of the rest of the cities and smallei
places given in the long list of the Emperor's allies at th€
Congress of Venice, except of Imola and Faenza. Soni<

' Gravedona was one of the Tre Pievi of the Lake of ComOy an^

all three are probably included tinder that name.

THE LOMBARD LEAGUE 157

of those in Piedmont were no doubt still legally under
the Count of Savoy or the Bishops; one can only
conjecture the cause of the omission of those of
Romagna.

The net result of this peace was that the free cities now
appear as a recognised order of the Italian kingdom.
They obtained great privileges, yet not greater than were
enjoyed by the chief German or Italian feudatories.
The early sovereigns, Prankish or German, had tried to
rule Italy by Imperial Marquises and Counts. The
failure of this plan led to an attempt to govern by means
of the Bishops. They in the confusion of the war of
investitures lost their hold on the cities ; now, finally,
these latter, the actual possessors of power, obtain a legal
recognition of their status. They become great corporate
feudatories, the equals of any of the feudal Princes or
Marquises.

That this new experiment failed to introduce a settled
government, and to restore the Imperial authority in
Italy, was due, perhaps, less to the privileges gained by
the cities than to the renewed weakness of the Empire
during the contests for tiie crown which lasted for nearly
a quarter of century after the death of Henry VI. in
1 197. For the moment, however, during the remaining
seven years of the reign of Barbarossa, and the seven
during which his son Henry VI. held the throne, the
Peace of Constance seemed to have regulated satis-
factorily the relations between the Empire and the
Communes.

Thus ended this great war. There is perhaps no other
struggle in the history of the world in regard to which
the sympathy of the narrator and the reader can be so
fully accorded to all the contending parties. The great
figure of Barbarossa — ^the legendary hero of the German
race — upholding what he regarded as the sacred rights
of the Empire; the steadfast and lofty-minded Ponti£F,
the champion of the freedom of the Church and of the
liberties of the Communes; the nameless heroes, with
their watchword "Liberty," who closed round the war
car of Milan at Legnano ; the unknown statesmen who

1S8 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

planned the League — all alike deserve our admiration and
compel our respect.

Of few wars can it be said that they ended in a treaty
so just and so honourably observed. A few years after
the Peace of Constance Frederick once more visited
Lombardy. He came as a loyal observer of the treaty,
an indulgent sovereign forgetful of wrong done him in
the past. He was loyally received by the cities, even by
Milan which had known such evil days through him.
It was more difficult to avoid friction between Pope and
Emperor ; yet during the rest of Frederick's life he
came to no open breach with the Church. Nay more ;
moved by the capture of Jerusalem by Saladin, the aged
Emperor once more took the field, this time in the cause
of Christianity against Islam. He perished, drowned in
the little river Salef on the confines of Syria, while
leading an army of ninety thousand men to the rescue
of the Holy Land. But his people refused to believe in
his death. Legend and song have made us familiar with
the belief long cherished in Germany that —

'* Der alte Barbarossa,
Der Kaiser Friederich,
Im unterird'schen Schlosse
H^t er verzaubert sich"

— ^that he sleeps in the mountain cavern, awaiting the
hour of his countr/s need, to arise and to lead her to
victory over her foes.

We should have a higher opinion of human nature if
we could close our history here.

CHAPTER VII

THE CONQUEST OF THE CONTADO AND THE GROWTH
OF FACTION

The Peace of Constance, which expressly recognised the
right of the Communes to form leagues for the safe-
guarding of their rights, might have laid the foundation
of a federation of cities acknowledging the authority of
the Empire, but possessing autonomy in all eternal
matters. Such a federation would have been strong
enough to resist any attack from outside, and it could
not have failed, during the contests for the throne which
followed the death of Henry VI., to free itself from all but
a mere nominal dependence on the Empire, and to build
up a federal state in the valley of the Po which would
infallibly have obtained a preponderance over the rest
of Italy.

Italian writers have continually lamented that no
attempt was made to establish such a federal state.
But in the nature of things no such attempt was pos-
sible. The conception of a federal union was something
too high for the newly emancipated Communes of the
twelfth century. Each city fought first of all for its own
hand. A common danger had for a moment united the
Lombards. But the League had never been a real
federal union. It had been merely an alliance of inde-
pendent states, which fell apart as soon as the pressure
from outside was removed.

The Peace of Constance had even consecrated dis-
union. It recognised the rights of the cities to make
war on one another, and it left two hostile con-
federacies face to face : on the one side Milan and the

160 THE LOMBARD COlfMUNES

League, on the other Pavia, Cremona^ Como and the
other Imperialist Communes.

These confederacies were soon broken up. Neigh-
bouring cities resumed their own quarrels. Once again
Brescia fights with Bergamo, Verona with Padua, Parma
with Piacenza. Once again Italy was filled with strife,
all the greater now that the Communes were more
powerful and more independent.

Frederick kept the peace he had sworn with the
Lombards. A year or two after the Treaty of Constance
he revisited Italy, and was well received by the Milanese.
In return he loaded them with favours, granting them
all the Regalian rights in the Archdiocese, and in the
counties of Seprio, Martesana, Lecco, Burgaria, and
Anghera, in return for the payment of ;^30o a year.
Such a sudden change of front seems surprising; but
doubtless he received large sums in ready-money for
these favours, and for similar ones which he bestowed
on other cities.'

On the other hand, his relations with Pavia and
Cremona seem altered The influence of the latter
city had prevented the League from taking any steps
towards rebuilding Crema. Now Frederick allowed the
Milanese to restore the town, which was declared inde-
pendent of Cremona. This latter was exasperated l)eyond
measure by this, and even dared to defy the Emperor.
Unmindful of the services of Cremona in the past,
Barbarossa laid waste her territories at the head of the
forces of Milan, Brescia, Piacenza, and other places, and
granted to Milan a considerable territory lying to the
north of Crema. By the mediation of Bishop Sicard,
the chronicler of his native town, a reconciliation was
effected,^ and the relations of Frederick with the
Lombards remained peaceful during the remainder of
his reign.

* We know that Piacenza paid £15,000, as well as ;£z,ooo to
the Imperial legates, on the occasion of the Peace of Constance ;
other cities doubtless paid similar sums.

* Cremona gave up Gaustalla and Luzzara, places south of the Po,
part of the inheritance of Matilda which it had forcibly seized. Bat
it soon recovered possession.

THE CONQUEST OF THE CONTADO 161

The next few years saw an ever-increasing hostility
between city and city. Parma fought Piacenza, Mantua
fought Ferrara, the cities of the Veronese Mark fell out
among themselves. The shock to Christendom caused
by the capture of Jerusalem by Saladin for a moment
brought about peace, not only in Italy, but throughout
Europe. A new Crusade was preached, and the Italians
were conspicuous in their efforts for the rescue of the
Holy Land. The maritime peoples sent out powerful
fleets; the Marquis of Montferrat and many of the
Italian prelates led forces from the inland cities.
Cremona, we learn, took a large part in the enterprise.
A ship was built and equipped by the contributions of the
burghers, and sailed down the Po to the open sea, laden
with soldiers and equipment; and again in 1203 a
thousand warriors led by Bishop Sicard went from the
city to Palestine.

The cessation of hostilities was not of long duration,
and a few years later a quarrel arose between Brescia
and Bergamo which involved the greater part of
Lombardy in war. Both cities had been extending
their rule over the feudality in their dioceses. Some of
these sought to preserve their independence by playing
off one city against the other, putting themselves
voluntarily under one Commune to escape the encroach-
ments of the other. From this cause a dispute arose
between the two cities regarding some frontier castles
near the Lake of Iseo. Bergamo, complaining of being
wronged, sought help from Cremona, which was in
constant feud with Brescia over rights of irrigation and
navigation on the River Oglio. The latter warmly took
up the cause of Bergamo, and succeeded — how we
know not — in obtaining help from eleven other cities. '

While Bergamo attacked the Brescian territory on one
side, the confederates crossed the Oglio, preparing to
advance on Brescia, which had Milan for its only ally.
But the Brescians, a people distinguished above all other
Lombards for a spirit of obstinate endurance, did not

' Pavia, Lodiy Como, Parma, Piacenza, Reggio, Modena, Mantua,
Verona, Bologna, Ferranu

102 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

lose heart, and, falling on the enemies before they had
advanced far from the river, by a skilful stratagem put
them to rout. The defeated army fled towards the Oglio,
hotly pursued, and crowded on to the bridge which they
had thrown over the river. The bridge broke under the
strain, and of those of the confederates who had escaped
the sword the greater part perished, swallowed up in the
mud or carried away by the current. In this, by far the
most bloody battle which had so far marked the contests
of the cities, ten thousand of the allies perished, and the
day was for long known as the day of the Mala MorU^
or Evil Death. The Emperor, Henry VI., brought about
a peace in the same year, through which the Brescians
reaped nothing by their victory.

Henry was more occupied by his invasion and con-
quest of the Norman dominions in South Italy, and with
quarrels with the Popes arising from his encroachments
on their possessions, than with the affairs of Lombardy.
With regard to that province he abandoned the policy
of the later years of Barbarossa, and reverted to that
pursued in the early days of his father's reign. Instead
of keeping peace and endeavouring to attach all the cities
alike by mildness, he endeavoured to uphold his authority
by means of a faction among them. Thus he was lavish
in favours to particular Communes — such, for instance,
as Brescia, Piacenza and Ferrara. But he did not in the
least care whether these concessions infringed the rights
of other cities. Thus he gave Pavia extensive rights over
the waterway of the Ticino, which the Milanese looked
on as an injury to their interests, with the result that
hostilities again broke out between the two rivals.

A grant to Piacenza of rights over the small town of
Borgo San Donnino brought on a furious struggle
between that city and Parma, which claimed Borgo San
Donnino as part of her territory. The old-standing
quarrel over Crema was renewed when Henry in 1191
cancelled Barbarossa's decision, and handed over Crema
and the adjoining district to Cremona. Crema resisted
by the aid of Milan, whereupon Henry encouraged the
formation of a league consisting of Pavia, Cremona,

Hbnry VI.
(From a Minnesinger MS. of the 14th Century.)

To face page 163.

THE CONQUEST OF THE CONTADO 1«3V/

Lodi, Como, Bergamo, Parma, and the Marquis of Mont«-
ferrat, who attacked the Milanese territory on all sides.
As Montferrat was at war with Asti and Vercelli, and
Ferrara with Mantua, all Lombardy was filled with
confusion.

The grant of Crema to Cremona was solemnly repeated
in 1 195, and Crema, with her allies Brescia and Milan,
was put to the ban of the Empire. This step, joined
with Henry's preponderance in the central and southern
parts of the peninsula, excited general alarm, and eleven
cities renewed the Lombard League as an answer to it.'

However, other matters engaged Henry's attention, the
League took no hostile steps, and next year the ban was
removed. Como and Cremona made peace with Milan,^
and, though feuds between other cities continued, a
general conflict was averted. Henry's death in 1197,
and a double election to the Imperial dignity, with a
consequent civil war, removed all danger from the side
of Germany.

The fifty years following on the establishment of the
Lombard League were a time of rapid growth in the
power of the cities. By the Peace of Constance they
had secured autonomy ; they were increasing in wealth
and population ; they had entirely broken the power of
feudalism, and now were establishing their authority over
the whole extent of their respective dioceses. Not only
the cities, but many smaller communities also, had shared
in the general movement towards freedom. Some of .
these small communities were formed by associations
of freemen, or of minor nobles who had no feudal lord,
and therefore only acknowledged the authority of the
Emperor or of his representative the rural Count. Others
were vassals of the Bishops or of the great Abbeys, which
were extensive landholders. These Church lands had
not as yet been incorporated into the territory subject

' Verona, Padua, Mantua, Bologna, Faenza, Reggio, Modena,
Piacenza, Crema, Brescia, Milan ; also the Tre Pievi of the Lake
of Como.

* Crema managed to hold her own against the attacks of
Cremona.

164 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

to the cities. Now, in many cases, just as the cities had
shaken off the Rule of the Bishops, the small country
towns on Church land forced their overlords to grant
them charters of self-government, freeing them almost
entirely from dependence. So in many places the
vassals of the feudal lords combined together and gained
their freedom. Thus we read that the inhabitants of six
villages in the Piedmontese Val di Belbo conspired
against the oppression of their lords, took their castles
with the slaughter of the owners, and then, aided' by the
Alessandrians, established the small town of Nizza.'

In these various ways a multitude of small Communes
were established within the limits of the dioceses of the
greater cities. So we find the Tre Pievi of the Lake of
Como acting as an independent member of the League
of 1195. On Lake Maggiore, Intra, Pallanza, Oggebbio,
Cannobio, all for a time governed themselves by their
own consuls and popular assemblies.^ In Piedmont
during the war with Frederick Barbarossa many small
free communities came into existence, such as Mondovi,
founded by the inhabitants of four villages, and Chivasso,
Savigliano, Cherasco— the former built, it is said, by the
aid of the Milanese.3 Several small Communes of this
kind are mentioned among the signatories of the Truce
of Venice — Castel Bolognese, Belmonte, Monteveglio, and
others.

Scarcely had these little towns gained their freedom
when they were exposed to attack from the greater Com-
munes in whose dioceses they lay. We have already
seen the inveterate enmity of Como and the Isola
Comacina, and the fate of the latter. There was a feud
of a similar kind between Como and the Tre Pievi.
Galvanus Flamma, a historian of Milan, gives a list
of four towns in the Archdiocese which had been
destroyed by the Milanese.

' In 1234 (Ferrari).

* A stone in the Palazzo della Ragione at Cannobio, dated 1391,
declares that the town then had "memm imperium et miztum"
(Boniforli, " II piu bel giro del mondOi" p. 118).

> 80 Cuneo, at a later period, was founded under the anspices of
the Milanese to weaken the lords of Savoy and Montferrat.

THE CONQUEST OF THE CONTADO 165

In Tuscany some of these small communities, such as
San Gimighano and Prato, succeeded in holding their
own until, in the fourteenth century, they fell, along with
the greater cities of Arezzo, Volterra, and Pistoia, beneath
the ever-advancing power of Florence. In Romagna
San Marino, perched on its mountain crag, by a strange
survival has preserved one of these microscopic states
to our own day. But in Lombardy, where the cities
were greater than those of Central Italy, the small towns
were swallowed up one after the other with scarcely an
exception. Some, such as Borgo San Donnino, made
desperate struggles for freedom. Placed on the borders
of Parma and Piacenza, this town for a time managed
to play one city off against the other. But in 1268 the
Parmesans took it and rased it to the ground,' leaving
nothing standing but the great church, a beautiful
specimen of Lombard architecture. Pontremoli secured
a certain amount of freedom by alternately seeking the
protection of Parma, Lucca, and the Marquises Mala-
spina. Casale San Evasio gave itself to Vercelli in 1170,
no doubt as a protection against the Marquises of Mont-
ferrat. This did not save it from sack by Alessandria
in 1 175.* Forty-five years later it had shaken off its
allegiance to Vercelli, and was allied with the Marquises,
for we find that Casale was then taken by the Milanese,
who were at war with Montferrat, and that, at the request
of Vercelli, the whole population was led away captive.
At a later period, when republican institutions were
giving way before the rute of despots, Casale gave itself
to Montferrat, of which state it ultimately became the
capital.

The annals of Reggio, the archives of Bologna and
Alessandria, are full of mentions of the submission of
small Conununes to the cities, or of their forcible con-
quest In 1235 Alessandria destroyed Capriata, mas-
sacring men, women, and children, tearing the dead

' They had already destroyed it in 1152.

" Civalieri, ''Storia di Alessandria/ p. 10. In 1193 the Alessan-
drians again surprised and sacked Casale, but the burghers rallied
and finally routed them.

106 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

from the tombs, destroying houses and churches. The
village of Uxesio, which voluntarily submitted, vns made
a " citizen/' and bound itself to build a house in Ales-
sandria, after the fashion of single individuals who
received the citizenship. Leaving out the small com-
munities of Piedmont, we find only Crema which
' succeeded in maintaining its liberty against the preten-
sions of the city in whose diocese it was situated.^

The inhabitants of the small places thus absorbed were
not, as a general rule, admitted to the citizenship of the
greater Communes.^ They sank to the position of sub-
jects, being bound to render military service, and pay
an annual tribute to the ruling city. But in return they
were left a very complete autonomy ; they were governed
as before by their consuls, assisted by a council. They
passed their own statutes for their internal government,
subject to the approval of their masters. It is said that
in Tuscany alone more than five hundred localities had
their own statutes, which were in force down to the
eighteenth century, and which are still extant. Some of
these small communities had others still smaller depend-
ing on them. Thus Limonta and Civenna had put
themselves under Bellagio, the place so well known
nowadays as the centre of the enchanting scenery of
the Lake of Como, and itself subject to Como.

As time went on the condition of the small com-
munities changed for the worse. Their contributions
were increased as the necessities of the constant warfare
between the cities demanded an increased outlay. Often,
too, when the ruling state desired to raise money for an
exceptional need it imposed an altogether dispropor-
tionate assessment on the subject country districts,
Treviso, under the rule of Alberto della Scala, being
forced to pay him fifteen thousand florins a month, raised
six thousand from the city and the rest from the subject

' Piacenza took Bobbio in 1212 and again in 1229.

' When Bologna allowed the people of Nonantola to be enrolled
as part of one of the four gales or quarters into which the burgher^
of Bologna were divided, it was in order to entice them away from
Modena, which claimed Nonantola as a dependency.

THE CONQUEST OP THE OONTADO 167

territory. Como, under the Visconti, was to pay them
four thousand florins a month and the Valtelline six
hundred, but Bormio and Poschiavo, instead of paying
their share as part of the Valtelline, were ordered to make
up five hundred florins of the contribution due from the
city of Como.<

Exactions of this kind brought on constant revolts.
The Valtelline and the Tre Pievi were perpetually
struggling to free themselves from Como.

Such revolts were punished by heavier impositions
and the loss of much of the local autonomy. In general
much of the internal freedom vanished during the
thirteenth century. The cities placed over the subject
communities an officer, generally one of their own
nobles, who, with the title of Podesta, or Captain, re-
placed the former consuls. He exercised his power in
an arbitrary manner, altering the statutes to suit the
wishes of the ruling city, and too often using his office
as a means of enriching himself and his friends.

So much were the burthens of the country people —
the villani, as they were called, from the word villa,
applied to a village — increased, that many of the poorer
landholders were glad to sell their lands to the officials
or their friends, and migrate to the cities, or else cultivate
as tenants the lands they had formerly owned. Others,
of the richer sort, also sought relief by taking up their
residence in the cities, and handing over their lands to
tenants. From these causes there was a great migration
from the country to the towns. The newcomers, by
joining the trades guilds, which in the thirteenth century
were gradually becoming the chief factor in the con-
stitution of the cities, soon acquired all citizen rights,
which, it must be remembered, were rigorously confined
to those who possessed a house and habitually resided
within the municipal boundaries. The cities rapidly in-
creased in population in this way. The conservative
Dante regrets the good old times when —

* In 1296 a forced loan was raised by Parma of thirteen thousand
Imperial lire, eight thousand of which were contributed by the
country districts.

168 THE LOMBARD COlfMUNES

" La dttidinanza ch' e or mista
Di Campi, di Certaldo e di Figghine
Piira vedeasi nell' ultimo artista."'

The La Scalas of Verona, and many of the leading
families of Florence — the Cerchi, for instance — were
immigrants of this sort. Ivrea encouraged immigration
by granting the citizenship to all who owned a house
within the walls. Milan granted the rights of citizenship
in 121 1 to all from the country parts who would settle in
the city and dwell there for thirty years. But the country
parts suffered beyond measure by the disappearance of
the small proprietors, the effects of which have lasted to
this day ; the landowners, instead of living on their
estates, are, in Lombardy at least, concentrated in the
cities, and pass but a short time on their properties, while
the country districts suffer from all the evils of absentee
landlordism.

Against this decline of the status of the free inhabitants
of the country we can put the amelioration of the vast
mass of cultivators who had been in a condition of servi-
tude on the lands belonging to the Church or to the
feudal lords. Almost everywhere the policy of the cities
was to emancipate these. In many cases they founded
small fortified towns at strategic points, and encouraged
the serfs from the surrounding country, and even the
free tenants of the feudal lords, to settle in them, guaran-
teeing to protect them against their masters, as well as
very extensive privileges.

Thus sprang up the innumerable places with the name
Borgofranco, Villafranca, Villanova, Castelfranco, &c.,
which are to be found all over Lombardy and Central
Italy. In 1197 Vercelli decreed that the spot called
Villanova should remain free and absolute for ever to
the honour and advantage of the Commune of Vercelli,
so that no one in future should extort any contributions
from the inhabitants, nor exercise any jurisdiction over

* " But in their veins the blood unmingled ran
(No Campi, no CertaldOj no Figghine)
Down to the very lowest artisan."

(Wrighf s Dante— <' Paradiso/' Canto XVI.

THE CONQUEST OF THE CONTADO 160

them. They were to be fully owners of their houses and
plots of land, with power of freely disposing of them as
they pleased. No external authority was to be introduced
there, except that of the Commune of Vercelli.

Twenty years afterwards the same city founded Borgo-
franco. The place was well fortified, and the inhabitants
received most ample privileges, and exemption from
taxes for four years, after which they were to pay the
tax called fodro, like the citizens of Vercelli themselves.

Ivrea founded Castelfranco in 1250, and transferred to
it the inhabitants of three neighbouring villages. They
were to be free from all servitude, " for liberty is a gift
of inestimable value, nor could it be sold with profit for
all the gold in the world." They were to be counted as
if they dwelt in one of the " porta© " or quarters of Ivrea,
were to be free from all the tributes and services pai4 by
the subjects of Vercelli, were to have complete internal
freedom, and draw up a "statute" or code of laws for
themselves, which the Podest^ of Ivrea were to swear to
respect.

In 1221 Bologna invited settlers from other districts,
and promised the right of being governed by consuls of
their own choice to every twenty families who would
found a village in the Bolognese territory. And we find
similar measures taken by many other Communes such as
Florence, which, besides many other similar foundations,
built three towns in 1300, in the Upper Valdarno, to hold
in check the Ubaldini, and Pazzi, and otfier lords in that
region. By these measures the power of the country
noble was greatly diminished without any direct attack
from the cities. His plight was worse still if he came
into open conflict with a Commune. His serfs would
be incited to rise, and, if the fortune of war turned
against him, he would be forced as a condition of peace
to recognise their liberty. Or he might even be deprived
altogether of part or all of his lands, and the cultivators,
now free from all personal servitude, would become
subject to the victorious city. This happened in the
case of Biandrate in 1199. Novara and Vercelli divided
up the men of this town and of some neighbouring spots

170 THB LOMBARD COMMUNES

between them. They were freed from all dependence on
the Count, became vassals of the conquerors, and were
forced to build houses for themselves in the cities.
Briandrate itself was rased to the ground, and in later
times we find the Podest^ of Novara obliged to swear
that he would visit the site twice a year and destroy any
house he found there, so that the spot might remain
desolate for ever. The Counts of Biandrate, however,
still retained great possessions in Val Sesia and Val
d'Ossola, as well as in parts of Piedmont, and as late
as 1290 we find them at variance with the Commune of
Asti.<

The final step in the emancipation of the serfs was
reached later. With an enlightenment far in advance
of the rest of Europe the burghers, passionate lovers of
liberty themselves, formulated the principle that serfdom
was contrary to the bw of nature. So the different
Communes took measures to enfranchise all the serfs
within their jurisdiction. Bologna, the home of law,
was one of the first Communes to enter on this path.
In 1256, by a solemn decree of the rulers of the city, all
the serfs in the territory of Bologna were bought from
their lords and freed, paying in return a certain quantity
of corn to the Commune."

Florence followed this example in 1289. The decree
lays down the principle that every man has a natural
right to liberty, and goes on to order that, in future, no
man shall dare to buy, or acquire in any other manner,
serfs of any kind whatsoever.3

This rise to liberty of the serfs made up, to a large
extent, for the loss of the old free proprietors who had
left the country for the towns. Personal freedom, how-
ever, by no means implied political freedom, nor did it
bring with it the acquisition of landed property ; and the

' One branch, the Counts Biandrate of San Giorgio in the Cana-
vese, figure frequently in later times in the history of Piedmont
They remain to the present day.

' Those above the age of fourteen were bought at 10 soldi each,
the rest at 8 soldi (Cantu, p. 383).

s Fideles, colonos perpetuos vel conditionales adscriptitios vel
censitos vel aliquos alios (Cantii, p. 387).

THE CONQUEST OF THE OONTADO 171

communities of emancipated serfs shared, for the most
part, in the decline of political status which the small
communities underwent in the later thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries.

We have already seen that almost from the moment
when the cities had organised themselves as free munici-
palities they had turned their arms against those of the
nobles of the Contado who did not form part of the
Commune. Over a great part of Lombardy these had
nearly all been forced to submission by the time of
Frederick Barbarossa's first descent into Italy.

His attack on the liberties of the Communes had given

the nobles an opportunity of freeing themselves from this

dependent condition ; and so we find the feudal nobles

— ^as, for example, those of the counties of Seprio and

Martesana — on his side in his conflict with Milan. The

foundation of the Lombard League, and Frederick's

withdrawal from Italy in 1168, left them more than ever

exposed to attack. Besides, it would appear from Morena

that many even of the Marquises, Counts, Captains, and

other nobles had suffered from the oppression of the

Imperial officials, and so looked favourably on the

League. Either on this account, or yielding to force,

all the nobles of Lombardy had embraced the cause of

the League before Frederick's return to Italy in 1174.

The two chief feudatories of the north-west of Lombardy,

(he Marquis of Montferrat and the Count of Biandrate,

had, as we have seen, been reduced by force of arms.

The Malaspinas and the Estensi do not seem to have

needed this compulsion. The two leaders of the army

which the League assembled for the relief of Alessandria

were Ezzelino of Romano, called the Stammerer, lord of

great possessions in the Mark of Verona, and grandfather

of the ferocious Ezzelino, whose crimes form such a lurid

page in the history of the succeeding century, and

Anselmo da Doara, of a great Cremonese family, which

has also attained celebrity in the annals of Italian tyrants.

As Frederick failed in his attempt to destroy the liberties

of the Communes, and finally had to establish them on a

more solid basis than before, so the nobles in Lombardy, far

172 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

from recovering what they had lost in the first part of the
twelfth century, were now brought much more thoroughly
under the power of the Communes. All the cities, it
must be remembered, whether partisans or opponents
of Frederick, had pursued the same policy towards the
nobles. All were determined to extend their authority
over the whole Contado. And Frederick, to conciliate
the cities which supported him, or to win over to his side
the waverers, had to legalise their aggressions.

So he and his successor, Henry VL, forced the nobles
of the Valtelline, and the rest of the diocese of Como, to
recognise Como as their feudal superior, just as they had
once acknowledged the Bishop of that city as their
Count. He gave Tortona jurisdiction over all the nobles
of her Contado. So with Pavia. Here we find Henry
VI. authorising the city to prevent the rebuilding of
Lomello, the seat of the representatives of the old royal
Counts of Pavia, who had the same influence in that
diocese as the Counts of Biandrate had in that of Novara,
and who were still attempting to assert their authority in
the city itself.

When Frederick was reconciled with Milan and her
confederates he in a like manner recognised the status
quo. He formally gave the Milanese jurisdiction over
the counties of Seprio and Martesana, the nobles of
which had been prominent on his side in the early stages
of the war, and which he himself had freed from all
dependence on Milan after the first capitulation of that
city. And, in addition to this, he conferred on them
the counties of Lecco and Anghera, of which the
Archbishops had at one time been Counts.

Two circumstances combined to render the subjugation
of the nobles a much easier matter in Lombardy than^ in
other parts of Italy. If we exclude Piedmont, there were
in the first place few really great feudatories in North
Italy. The Marquis of Montferrat, the Count of Bian-
drate, the Malaspinas, the Marquises of Este, and the
lords of the Canavese were almost the only nobles
holding a large and compact extent of territory. Of these
the Marquises of Montferrat held their own against the

THE CONQUEST OF THE CONTADO 173

cities, though finding it advisable to enrol themselves as
burghers of Vercelli in 1182, and of Asti at a later date.
The lands of the Counts of Biandrate were in course of
time divided among several branches of the family,
and were gradually absorbed by Novara and Vercelli.
The Malaspinas, occupying a great tract of mountainous
country from the frontiers of Pavia to the borders of
Lucca and Pisa, preserved the sovereignty over portions
of their domains down to the eighteenth century. The
lords of Este were forced to acknowledge the supremacy
of Padua over the northern portions of their lands in
1213, and to become burghers of that city. But they
kept full possession of the swampy district known as the
Polesine of Rovigo; and, taking advantage of the in-
testine conflicts in the Mark of Verona, long played
a leading rSle in these parts and established their power
solidly in Ferranu

The second circumstance arose from the physical
configuration of Lombardy. Over a great portion of it,
including practically the whole territories of Pavia, Milan,
Lodi, Cremona, and other cities, the level nature of the
country gave no natural means of defence by which a few
well-armed men might resist a greater force. In the hilly
provinces of Tuscany, Umbria, and Romagna, where every
village and every castle is piled high, a natural fortress,
on some precipitous hill, and where great feudal families
had divided up the inheritance of the Countess Matilda,
or held large continuous tracts as vassals of the Pope, the
struggle between cities and nobles was far more pro-
tracted. And being protracted it developed great bitter-
ness. Numberless instances of atrocities committed by
the burghers on the nobles in Central Italy might be cited
in the thirteenth and above all in the fourteenth centuries.
In Lombardy, on the other hand, instances of such
atrocities are rare. Almost all such cases in North Italy
occurred in Piedmont, where the geographical features
were much the same as in Tuscany.

The contrast between the geographical conditions of
the two regions had, furthermore, an important bearing
on the status of the noble$ in each, once they had been

174 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

subdued and become citizens of the victorious Communes*
In the great levels of the Lombard plain cavalry had an
immense superiority over infantry, and cavalry, in the
citizen armies, was supplied by the nobles and wealthier
classes generally, who alone could provide the expensive
equipment of the heavy-armed mounted men of the
[>eriod, and who alone could afford the expenditure of
time necessary to obtain a mastery over horse and
weapons.

So the mass of the burghers could not do without the
aristocracy of mingled birth and wealth which formed
the governing class in all the cities during the twelfth
century. The country noble isolated in his castle, the
city aristocrat in the narrow streets among a multitude of
enemies, might be easily enough overpowered. But
outside the walls the aristocracy united in a body was
invincible.

If dissensions between class and class arose within the
walls the populace by sheer force of numbers might easily
expel the nobles ; but once in the level open country the
mail-clad cavalry of the latter formed a force against
which the citizen infantry were powerless. A city from
which the nobles were expelled saw its whole territory
outside the walls lost to it, or exposed helplessly to the
raids of neighbouring hostile communities. We have
already seen an instance of this in the early eleventh
century when the people under Lanzone drove out the
nobles from Milan. In the early thirteenth century we
find innumerable examples of the same state of things
at Piacenza, at Brescia, and again at Milan, to quote only
a few out of many examples.

It followed from this that the aristocracy, whether of
old civic origin, or conquered country nobles, retained a
far greater influence in Lombardy than they did, for
example, in Tuscany. There the hilly countiy enabled
the feudality to resist the Communes for a much longer
period ; but there, among a tangle of hills and valleys,
heavy cavalry was not of much use, and so, once con-
quered, the nol>les were not indispensable to the cities,
and could do them but little injiuy if they broke away

THE CONQUEST OF THE CONTADO 175

from the Commune in a body. And it is to this cause
that we may ascribe the complete overthrow of the nobles
as a political party, and their ultimate exclusion from
civic rights which is such a curious feature in the history
of Florence, Siena, and other Tuscan conununities.

There were many cities which had not completed the
conquest of the Contado by 1183. Brescia, Bergamo,
Novara, and Vercelli, which claimed jtuisdiction over the
valleys running up to the foot of the High Alps, had made
far less progress in this respect than the cities whose
Contadi lay in the plain. Especially backward were the
towns which lie strung along the old Roman iGmilian
Way, in the district south of the Po, which, from the
Roman road, has adopted the designation of Emilia.

The Apennines, which on the south side, towards
Tuscany, fall somewhat abruptly down to the valley of
the Arno, sink gradually to the plain on the north, in a
tangled network of hills and valleys. At Bologna the
foothills almost touch the line of the great road and the
city walls, then they draw away in a great curving arc so
that Modena, Reggio, and Parma lie well out in the plain
with, in hazy weather, scarcely a glimpse of the hills
from the walls. At Piacenza, where the road touches
the Po, the hills are nearer, and farther west they too
almost reach the river, on the borders of the lands of
Piacenza and Pavia. In this hill country, much of
which belonged to the inheritance of the Countess
Matilda, the feudal lords had maintamed the ground
more successfully than the rest of their compeers.

After the Peace of Constance these backward cities
turned their attention to gaining complete control of
the Contado. Occasionally they met with checks.
Re^io was put to the ban of the Empire in 1193 for
aggressions on the feudality, and the ban was only
removed on the burghers giving up the castles and lands
they had won and releasing their owners from the oaths
they had sworn to the city. The Marquis of Montferrat
defeated Asti in 1191 and took two thousand prisoners.

To escape the aggressions of one city the nobles would
often voluntarily put themselves under the protection of

176 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

another, its rival. This method of defence added a new
cause for discord among the cities to those, sufficiently
numerous, one might think, which existed already. The
great attack on Brescia in 1191 had its origin in a treaty
between that city and a neighbouring countly family, by
which the latter sold three castles in the Contado of
Bergamo to Brescia, and engaged to expend the money
in buying lands in the Brescian territory. Another con-
test was provoked between the two cities when the power-
ful family of Brusati, lords of the greater part of the
picturesque Val Camonica, revolted from Brescia and
put themselves and their castles under the protection of
her rival.

The mountainous region of the Prignano to the south
of Modena, originally part of the lands of the Countess
Matilda, was held by a number of noble families, descen-
dants of the officisds which she and her predecessors
had placed over that region. These, to protect them-
selves from the attacks of Modena or Reggio, had formed
a kind of confederation among themselves, and aided by
their remoteness from the cities had preserved their
freedom down to the end of the twelfth century. But
after an unsuccessful war with Bologna, on account
of which Modena had been forced to make large sacri-
fices of territory, the Modenese sought for compensation
by a vigorous attack on the Captains, as they were called,
who held Prignano. These latter had, however, secured
the assistance of Parma, which sent its forces, with the
Carroccio, to their help. Modena was near at hand,
Parma far off, and was, besides, probably not very
keenly interested in the struggle, since her territories
nowhere touched on those of Modena. In spite, there-
fore, of this effort of Parma, the Captains had to submit
and become burghers of Modena.

This was in 1205 ; but eight years afterwards we find
a general revolt of these lords, who handed themselves
and their castles over to Bologna, between which state
and Modena there was chronic hostility about a question
of boundaries. The revolted nobles were subdued, and
a series of victories over Bologna prevented any help

THE CONQUEST OP THE CONTADO 177

coining to them from that quarter. But in 1234 there
was another revolt, and no less than twenty-three castles
were handed over to the Bolognese. Henceforward
both states looked on themselves as lawful rulers of
Frignano; and, though Modena again subdued the
district, it remained for long a bone of contention
between the two cities, to the great advantage, no doubt,
of the Captains.

Numerous conventions between the cities and the
conquered nobles have been preserved, and give us a
full insight into the fate of these latter. From them
it appears that the Communes pursued a uniform policy
towards the feudality of the country, and one which
cannot by any means be styled illiberal. Invariably
the nobles were compelled to swear allegiance to the
Commune, to build a house within the walls, which
they were to inhabit for one or two months every year
in time of peace, and double that period in time of war.
Their castles were to be at the command of the city,
they were to do military service, and their vassals were
to pay an annual tribute to the magistrates. Furthermore,
they were to keep the roads in their neighbourhood
open to the commerce of the city. This was a most
important provision, for it must be confessed that the
aggressions of the burghers on the feudality were not
without their excuse. Too often the latter had acted
as mere robbers, swooping down on the caravans of the
merchants, and in every case exacting vexatious tolls
throughout the districts subject to them. In many cases
it had become a matter of vital necessity to the Com-
munes to open a safe road for their commerce by
destroying the castles which impeded the circulation of
goods along the trade routes.

In return the cities confirmed the nobles in the
possession of their lands, promised them help against
their enemies, admitted them to the citizenship, and
as nobles allowed them to share in the highest offices of
the commonwealth.

Such are the main features of the compacts between
nobles and Communes. But, naturally, there is an

178 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

infinite variety in the details. If the noble had only
been subdued after an obstinate war his castles might
be destroyed or else permanently garrisoned by the
Commune. Sometimes he lost part, more rarely all,
of his possessions. The jurisdiction in matters of life
and death over his vassals was generally assumed by
the city; as a rule in minor matters it was left to the
lord. But Como, to secure her authority over the unruly
population of the Valtelline, pledged herself to maintain
some of the nobles, such as the family of Venosta, in all
their rights.

It was only when, in the course of the thirteenth
century, the rise of a democratic party in the cities had
brought on an embittered struggle of classes, that the
feudal jurisdiction of the nobles on their fiefs was entirely
swept away, and they themselves made subject to the
ordinary taxes.

Naturally where the submission of the noble had been
voluntary the conditions he received were still more
favourable. He often received a sum of money as a
compensation for the feudal rights he had surrendered.
Sometimes the city bought certain of his lands and
castles, imposing on the noble the obligation of spending
the money thus received in the purchase of lands and
houses in or near the city. Sometimes the noble,
especially a powerful one whose many retainers would
be useful in war time, received a yearly sum of money
from the state, so as to induce him to fidelity ; often
he received additional lands as fiefs. Many lords whose
possessions were widely scattered became vassals of two
or even more towns, and then it was expressly laid
down that in case of war between two such Communes
they were not to be called on for military service.

In all this variety of detail one essential fact stands
out. The nobles received the full citizenship and were
at once eligible for the public offices. Modena, in 1274,
even granted to the Captains of the Frignano that at
least eight of them should always belong to the General
Council. Milan assigned a definite representation in
like manner to the feudality of the Seprio. The towns

A TowiR, Mantua.

To /act pagg lyg.

THE CONQUEST OP THE CONTADO 179

received an immense accession both of wealth and force
by the admission of so many new citizens; and the
nobles found themselves in a position in the Communes
sufficient to compensate them for the loss of their old life
of isolated independence.

So now we find added to the population of all the
cities a wealthy and warlike class, impatient of control,
accustomed to rely on their own eflForts, and not to look
to laws to obtain redress for injury, proud of their birth,
despising the merchant, born to command, looking on
all of plebeian birth as their natural subjects. The addi-
tion of this class had important results. Not only did
the nobles bring with them from the country their con-
tempt for the peaceful trader or artisan, but they brought
in, too, their whole wild life of feud and violence, their
impatience of all settled order. The houses they built
in the cities became fortresses, from the lofty towers
of which the engines of war known to the period could
pour forth destruction on any assailant. The feuds
which they had carried on against their neighbours in
the countiy were prosecuted with all the more eagerness
now that they and their rivals dwelt in close proximity.
The fierce passions, nurtured by habits of absolute
command acquired on their own domains, refused to
submit to the trammels of laws laid down by men
inferior in birth and unskilled in arms.

In the cities they found, as we have seen, an aristocracy
—the milites, the descendants of those Captains, Val*
vassors, and other nobles who had from the first formed
part of the Communes, or of those families grown rich
through trade or the acquisition of land, who were able
to acquire warhorses and heavy armour, and could afford
the expenditure of time necessary to master their use.
The newcomers naturally took rank with these men, in
whose hands lay the direction of affairs. Wealth and
birth maintained their prestige, even though much of the
actual power of the feudal lords had been shorn away
by the Communes ; and so they found it natural to try and
make up by a gain of influence inside the walls for what-
ever they had lost by the fate of war in the open country.

180 THE LOlfBABD COlfMUNES

We still find three classes sharply enough distinguished
in the cities — ^the nobles or milites, an aristocracy resting
their prestige, as we have seen, either on birth or on
riches, and now increased by the accession of the country
feudality ; the free, non-noble citizens or popolo, engaged
in commerce, manufactures, or following certain trades ;
and finally the plebe or popolo minuto, the lower orders,
artisans, or others who were excluded from nearly ail civic
rights. It seems quite certain that the struggle against
Barbarossa had greatly strengthened the aristocracy.
The people in time of danger would naturally trust
the direction of affairs to those whom superior acquire-
ments or skill in war or diplomacy raised above the
level of the crowd. Those who did their work well
in one year would very naturally be again chosen as fit
persons to whom to intrust the ^ety of the state.

An echo of this fact in the history of Milan is preserved
for us in the pages of Galvanus Flamma, a writer, it is
true, of a later time, and an unsafe guide on consti-
tutional matters, but who in this instance may well have
caught some measure of the truth. He says that after
the restoration of Milan an agreement was made by
which the ariistctj whom he seems to take to belong to
the artisan class, but who may well have really been the
members of the trades guilds, < were to choose one
hundred of their number who were to elect, not from
themselves or from the popolo, but from the nobles,
twelve consuls who were to govern the city ; but that, in
the course of time, this agreement was broken, and the
consuls of one year claimed the right of nominating their
successors. They thus shut out ail pretence of popular
election, and ultimately hit on the plan that each noble
parenUla > should choose one member, and that from the
number thus chosen (who amounted to one or two

' He evidently distinguishes artistae from popolo, but it seems
much more likely that he is misled by the customs of his own day,
and that the artistae were really members of the arti or guilds which
composed the popolo.

* ParenUla as Consorteria, an association of noble families, related
or not, for purposes of defence, &c.

THE CONQUEST OP THE CONTADO 181

hundred) twelve consuls were to be selected yearly, till
all had had their turn, and then the former consuls held
office again in rotation.

We see plainly here the first steps towards the establish-
ment of an oligarchic rule, completely shutting out from
the government all outside a certain limited number of
families. This is, in fact, what really happened a
hundred years later at Venice, where the process known
as the '* Closing of the Grand Council " concentrated all
power in the hands of an oligarchy, which did not even
include all the nobles. One is tempted to attribute this
increase of the power and claims of the aristocracy to
the influx into the cities of the Marquises, Counts,
Captains, and other feudal nobles. Despising as they did
all peaceful occupations, and valuing nobility of descent
above all else, they looked down alike on the rich
merchant trading with foreign countries, whose wealth
allowed him to live with a splendour equal to or greater
than that displayed by the Captains or Valvassors, and on
the humbler traders or manufacturers who formed the
bulk of the popolo.

The aristocratic prejudices of Otho of Freisingen had
been shocked by the ease with which men of the lowest
origin,'^ whom other nations exclude like the pest from
the more honourable and liberal employments," could
attain to the rank of milites and to the highest honours.
To the feudal nobles this state of things must have been
almost as distasteful as it was to the German prelate.
And so we find an efiFort made to establish a close
aristocratic caste in whose hands the administration
should be concentrated, to the complete exclusion of
the non-noble freemen.

Meantime these freemen had been increasing rapidly
in wealth and numbers. In spite of constant warfare the
prosperity of the cities had been steadily growing.
Their manufactures, especially cloth and the finer kinds
of metal work, were exported to all the countries beyond
the Alps ; a share of the profitable traffic with the East
carried on by the maritime cities passed through their
markets. If proof of their wealth and enterprise were

182 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

wanting, we would find it in the extensive banking
business which at this period the Lombards had
established throughout Europe, The name Lombard
Street in London remains still as a memorial to their
activity in this direction ; and in fact we find the name
Lombard in somewhat unpleasant prominence as synony-
mous with usurers in many countries during the thirteenth
century. > Hence new families kept continually rising
to wealth. So we find in the cities a number of free
citizens, wealthy, and in theory eligible to ofiBce, but in
practice excluded from the government.

The numbers of the free burghers had also increased
enormously. Not only were their numbers swelled by a
constant inflow of free peasants from the country ; but
there was also a steady progress in the emancipation of
the lower classes. As these shook off all remains of
servitude to Bishop or feudal lord, they united to form
new guilds, or were enrolled in those guilds the members
of which were entitled to full burgher rights. At first
scarcely any had been free burghers except the notaries,
bankers, and money-changers, merchants, and those
engaged in certain manufactures. Now we see new
guilds, tradesmen, workers in various arts, admitted to an
equality with these. Even many of the artisan class now
attained the full citizenship, and the number kept
constantly increasing. In Parma, in 1215, we find fifteen
guilds among the popolo, the chief being money-
changers, clothmakers, and butchers; in 1253 seven, and
in 1 261 four additional ones were added. Precisely at
the time when the rise from the status of popolani to
that of milites was made difficult, or hindered altogether,
did a great emancipation of the lower cK-ders take place,
giving them rank among the popolo.

This ever-increasing class found itself shut out, to a
greater or less extent in the different cities, from a share
in public affairs, although on it fell most of the burthen
of taxation, and it supplied the great mass of the fighting
force of the city. So long as the richer families passed

' We are told that the citizens of Asti first began to lend money
at interest in 1236.

THE CONQUEST OP THE CONTADO 183

automatically into the ranks of the governing class, so
long as a capable man, no matter what his birth, could
see before him the prospect of rising to the highest posts
in the Commune, there had been a kind of safety-valve
guarding against discontent. But now the multitude,
shut out from the honours and yet bearing the burdens
of the state, found natural leaders among its richer
families — ^the grassi popolani, as they began to be called.
Among the families whose wealth had given them a
place among the city milites, many were suffering from
the pride of the feudality, who refused to look on them
as equals.

With such a condition of affairs a conflict was in-
evitable. And so, at the opening of the thirteenth
century, we find conflicts between nobles and popolo
breaking out in many cities. As early as 1185 we find
nobles and commons at war in Faenza, and the former
being expelled besieged the city with help from the
Emperor. In 1198 we find discord in Milan, which did
not apparently break out for the moment into open
hostilities. The city seems to have been split up into no
less than four factions. The butchers, bakers, and lesser
guilds in general formed a society called the Credenza di
Sant' Ambrogio, the popolani grassi had their own associ-
ation, the lesser nobles formed a party called the Motta,
while the greater ones had established a union called the
Societa dei Gagliardi. Similar disorders broke out almost
at the same period in other towns — Reggio, Padua, and
Brescia. In the latter the nobles wished to make an
attack on Cremona and Bergamo ; but the people, on
whom most of the burthen of these expeditions fell,
refused ; and, on the nobles persisting in their design,
broke out into insurrection. The nobles, as usually was
the case in these stru*ggles, were at a disadvantage within
the walls where their cavalry could not act. They were
expelled into the open country, where they easily held
their own. They called in the help of their late enemies
of Cremona, and this city, aided by Mantua and the exiles,
thoroughly defeated the popolo of Brescia, taking their
Carroccio. The struggle went on with constant vicissi-

184 THE LOBCBARD COMMITNES

tudes during the early years of the century, pacifications
being constantly patched up by ecclesiastics or neighbour-
ing cities, which were broken almost as soon as made.
The nobles, brought back by a papal legate, fall on the
people, who, taken unawares, are partly massacred and
partly expelled. The victorious nobles, however, quarrel
among themselves, and one faction recalls the people,
expelling the hostile party. The struggle was varied by
the attempt of a powerful country lord, the Count of
Casalolto, to set himself up as despot ; but this, a foretaste
of what these struggles were eventually to lead to, was an
undertaking too much in advance of the age, and the
Count and his supporters were driven out. A new
pacification was followed by a fresh outbreak, during
which the nobles were once more expelled. Brought
back by the Emperor Otho, they were once again driven
outside the walls, and this time the mob levelled all their
palaces. But the city could not exist without the nobles,
its mainstay in time of war ; and so they once more
returned, and the exhausted Brescia for a moment
enjoyed internal peace.

Similar struggles followed in Cremona — where the
inhabitants of the new town rose against those of the old
town, each faction having its own magistrates — ^in Lodi,
in Alessandria, in Chieri, and above all in Piacenza.

In this latter city, which, one would think, would have
had enough to do to defend itself from the combined
attacks of Parma, Cremona, and Pavia, the struggle was
particularly violent.' From 1219 to 1236 we find at
least seven distinct outbreaks, after most of which the
nobles were expelled from or quitted the city for their
castles, returning in consequence of victories in the field,
or by virtue of the good offices of neighbouring cities or
of the Church, until a victory of the nobles and the pres-
sure of the war against Frederick 1 1 . brought about a peace

* In Piacenza the struggle between the two classes began in 12x9,
when the Commune had made peace with its neighbours, and we
find the parties again in arms in 1221, 1223, 1225, 1232, 1233, 1234,
and 1235. In this 'latter year the people expelled the nobles and
joined Frederick II. The nobles returned next year, and Piacenza
remained hostile to the Emperor till X25a

THE CONQUEST OP THE CONTADO 185

which lasted fourteen years. Each of these expulsions
was preceded by street fighting, in which the nobles from
their towers rained missiles on the people, who sought
the help of fire ; and each victory was followed by the
plunder and destruction of houses. The parties sought
help from outside ; the people from Cremona or Parma,
the nobles from Milan, and the Contado was ravaged by
each party in turn.

In these internecine contests the people found an
organisation ready to their hands in the guilds with
their officers and revenues. At their head we often find
a noble, induced to desert his own class through sym-
pathy with the claims of the popolo, or through ambition,
or through jealousy of his fellow nobles. The nobles
looked for help to the unenfranchised mass of the people,
the plebe, as they are often called, who had not as a rule
much sympathy with the middle classes who formed the
popolo.

One of the most important results of these struggles
was the widening of the limits of citizenship. But we
must remember that in no city did the whole population
ever attain to the full franchise. Even in democratic
Florence the mass of the operatives in the woollen
industry were shut out from all political rights as late as
the year 1378. The revolution, called the Revolution of
the Ciompi, led to the creation in that year of three new
guilds — one of the wool workers with nine thousand
members, the others of dyers, carders, tailors, shoe-
makers, barbers, &c., with four thousand. But a counter
revolution led once more to their exclusion ; and we are
told that towards the end of the republic the government
was once more so thoroughly concentrated in the hands
of the middle classes that the full burghers numbered
less than four thousand out of ninety thousand Floren-
tines.

During the heat of the struggle between nobles and
popolo, however, both parties, especially the nobles,
sought the support of the lower orders. New guilds
then were formed, or formally recognised as having a
right to share in the government. Traces of this gradual

188 THE LOMBABD COMMUNES

extension of the franchise are found in the distinction
between greater and lesser "Arts" or guilds, with difiFe-
rent rights, found in some cities such as Florence and
Milan, as well as in the names primo popolo and secondo
popolo, which denote the admission to burgher rights of
successive strata of the population.' In time one might
even have had a terzo popolo, consisting of the lower
orders; but in Lombardy, at any rate, the rise of the
despots put a stop to further development in this
direction.

The first quarter of the thirteenth century was a period
of fierce struggle between the classes in many cities.
The war with Frederick II. restored internal peace.
After his death the conflict broke out again.

The second half of the century is, on the whole, marked
by the triumph of the popolo and the supremacy of the
arti in the state. In different cities the relative import-
ance of the various guilds differed. In most the bankers
and money-lenders and the merchants properly so called
were the chief. The bulk of the upper middle classes,
the grassi popolani, belonged to these, and they also
included many nobles, especially those of the older civic
nobility. In Florence the Guild of Wool and the Guild
of Calimala, or importers and refiners of foreign cloth,
were by far the most influential. In Parma and Bologna
the butchers were prominent ; in Milan they had but a
subordinate position.

" Naturally in such a contest the old unity o! the Com-
mune was imperilled. Each party chose its own leaders,
with councils and financial arrangements modelled on
those of the Commune. The old consular form of
government disappeared in the confusion. The city felt
the need of one single authority to preserve peace, the
factions felt the same need in order to give unity of
direction to their efforts. About the year 1200 we find
the consuls replaced almost everywhere by one single
magistrate styled Podesta.

* In Florence there were seven "greater" and fourteen "lesser
Arts " over and above the popolo minuto, who in 1378 obtained for a
moment admission to three new Arts.

THE CONQUEST OF THE OONTADO 187

This name Podesta was, as may be remembered, the
title given to the ofl&cials placed over the cities after
the Diet of Roncaglia by Barbarossa to administer
them in his name. Now that the Communes placed
the supreme power in the hands of a single indi-
vidual of their own choice, it was natural to apply this
name to him. The substitution of one supreme magis-
trate for the joint rule of the consuls took place in some
Communes even before the Peace of Constance. It is
noticeable that the innovation first appears in the Vero-
nese Mark, among the cities — ^Verona, Vicenza, and
Padua— which had been the first to band themselves
against the Emperor. In most Communes the new
magistracy makes its* appearance in or about the year
1 200.

At first it was a mere temporary expedient, designed to
meet some pressing danger from outside or to repress
some special outbreak of disorder within the walls.
Hence we find at first the Communes in one year under
a Podesta, in another returning to the old consular
government. But soon after 1200 we find the new
magistracy adopted permanently practically everywhere.
Sometimes we can clearly trace the variations in the form
of government to conflicts in the city.

The Podesta was always a noble, and almost always
was a " foreigner," ue,, not a citizen of the Commune he
was called on to govern. He was chosen either by the
whole body of burghers, or, more usually, by a select
number elected for that purpose, and was taken from
some friendly or allied city. The normal duration of his
office was twelve months, though there were cases in
which the term was prolonged to two or even three
years. Towards the end of the thirteenth century, on
the other hand, we find some Communes in which the
Podesta held office only for six months.

In his hands was placed the supreme executive power.
He was general in the field, supreme judge and main-
tainer of tranquillity at home. Strict precautions were
taken to ensure his impartiality in the exercise of these
functions. He must have no relatives in the city which

188 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

he was to administer, must not acquire property nor
contract any relationships within its limits. He must
not bring with him his wife or any members of his
family. Before accepting office he had to swear to obey
all the statutes of the Commune, and to agree to strict
regulations as to his mode of life, and the train of men
learned in the law, knights, and war horses which he
was to bring with him at his own expense. While in
office he must not accept presents, must not eat or drink
with any citizen, nor hold private intercourse with any ;
when his term had expired he must remain a certain
time, and allow his whole conduct to be investigated by
a special tribunal appointed for the purpose. If their
verdict was favourable he received the salary agreed on
beforehand — in Milan 2,000 silver lire, in Forli 70, as well
as some marks of honour. If he had abused his power
he was deprived of all or part of his salary.

Fettered by restrictions as the office was, it yet gave
its holder immense powers as judge, administrator, and
genera], and afforded the nobles a field in which to attain
distinction. Hence it was eagerly sought for. We
possess a book, " Oculus Pastorum " by name, which was
intended as a handbook for those who sought the posi-
tion. In it the noble could learn how he should enter
on his functions, how speak in favour of war or peace,
how pronounce a discourse in praise of his predecessor,
how administer justice, and finally how hand over his
office to his successor. A successful Podesta would
be summoned by city after city to govern it ; and the
ever-increasing violence of faction in the thirteenth cen-
tury offered ample scope to an ambitious man to turn his
office to his own private advantage, in spite of all restric-
tions. More than one of the early usurpers of the liber-
ties of the Communes attained their ends by making use
of their powers as Podesta.

The post, however, was not without its dangers. The
Bishop of Bologna, appointed Podesta by his fellow
townsmen in 1192, and continued in office for a second
year, saw himself attacked by a sudden rising of the
people. His palace was plundered, his friends kiUed,

THE CONQUEST OF THE OONTADO 189

and he himself escaped with difficulty. His successor,
taken from Pistoia, was equally unlucky. He was seized
by the nobles, against whom he had shown much
severity, and who by way of retiu-n pulled out all his
teeth. In Modena, in 1213, the Podesti had his tongue
torn out. Many were assassinated by a powerful family,
or fell victims to a sudden insurrection.

At first the Podestii, within the limits of the city
statutes and of the oath he had taken, was virtually a
temporary dictator. He had, however, a council to
advise him, corresponding to the formeiHconsuls, with
whom were joined perhaps the heads of the chief guilds.
The Italians were too fully persuaded of the advantage
of a balance of power not to seek soon to lessen this
authority. A body was chosen to form the guiding
power of the state, leaving only executive and judicial
authority to the Podesti. The meml>ers of this body.
Ancients, Good Men, Rectors or Priors, as they were
variously called, formed the real administrative power, or
"Signoria." Their number varied in different Com-
munes and at different periods, and as a rule bore some
relation to the wards into which the city was divided.
Thus at Florence there were at one time twelve " Good
Men," at another six Priors. They prepared all legisla-
tive and administrative measures, which they then laid
before the special council of the Podesta (the old
Credenza), and if these latter agreed, the matter was next
submitted to the general council to approve or reject.
In matters of great importance the whole assembly of
the burghers, the Parlamento, was consulted ; but as a
rule only the members of the Signoria and one or two
others had a right to harangue this assembly, and the
measures submitted to it must be approved or rejected
without modification.'

During the second half of the thirteenth century the
members of the Signoria were all taken from the trades

' The rise to power of the middle classes in the thirteenth century
modified these arrangements, and threw power into the hands of
two new councils, the special and general councils of the " people/'
from which the nobles were excluded.

190 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

guilds, and bore a definite relation to the number of
these. Such were the magistracy of the Anziani at
Bologna, the Priors of the Arts at Florence, the Nove
at Siena.

Since the Podest^ originated amidst tumults, it is not
rare at first to find two or more in a city, at the head of
rival factions. So in Milan there were three in 1192,
four in 1213, while the year before there had been twelve
military tribunes. There were two in Cremona in 1200
and again five years later. Sometimes when peace was
made both remained. In this case one would represent
the whole Commune, the other the popular element.
From this latter arose a new functionary, the PodestJi, or
Captain of the People, who towards the end of the
thirteenth century began to encroach on and absorb
most of the power of the Podesta.

There were many Communes in which there were
few or no quarrels between the different classes, either
because the ruling aristocracy was too powerful to be
easily attacked, or because the people had been admitted
at an early period to a sufficient share in the govern-
ment.' But we find these cities torn by feuds of another
kind, the blame of which must again be laid in great part
on the country feudality.

The independent life of the nobles on their fiefs had
fostered in them an impatience of the restraints of law ;
and they had learned to look not to legal means, but to
their own right hands, for the redress of grievances.
This view, sanctioned by the feudal code in almost every
country at that age, they brought with them to the cities.
They continued within the walls the feuds which had
been started with their country neighbours, they began
new ones, and carried them on in the streets and squares
and from the towers of their houses regardless of any
attempts of the civic magistrates to maintain order.

' Verona would seem to belong to the first catalogae ; here the
aristocracy was automatically recruited from the wealthy popolani.
But the despotism of Ezzelino seems to have rested on the mass of
the people whom he admitted to privileges hitherto only enjo3red by
the wealthy. Padua is an example of the second.

THE CONQUEST OP THE CONTADO 191

We have a graphic description of the extent to which
these feuds were carried on in Genoa, a city which has at
all tiroes been distinguished for the turbulence of its
population, where the nobles, we are told, disdained to
appeal to the tribunals to redress injuries done to them,
and fought out their quarrels in the very heart of the
city. "The family of Volta, constructing a wonder-
ful machine, erected a battering-ram attached to the
tower of Oberto Grimaldi, and to the new tower of
Oberto Spinola; and by means of this ram they destroyed
in sight of every one the new tower which Buldonoso
had built at the crossways of St. Siro. On their side the
Dorias erected a machine in the garden of St. Siro, and
hurled stones at the houses and towers of the Spinolas,
and of Oberto Grimaldi. The latter erected several
machines in their turn, and cast stones at the houses and
towers of the Dorias." »

A similar picture remains to us of the condition of
Florence : "The numerous towers were some a hundred,
others a hundred and thirty cubits high, and all, or
almost all, the nobles had them ; those who had none
proceeded to build them; they placed balistas, great and
small, on top, and several streets w^ere barricaded. The
custom of fighting had developed to such an extent that
one day they fought, and the next day the combatants
ate and dcank at the same table, discoursing of the valour
which they had shown against one another the day
before."

As time went on hostilities became more rancorous,
and whole quarters of the cities were devastated by fire,
which, beginning in the houses of one or the other
faction, involved the general mass of the citizens in a
common ruin. Verona was almost completely des^troyed
in 1 172 by a fire started in this way. Again, when the
Montecchi were expelled from this city in 1206, the
shops of the merchants were involved in the destruction
of their houses. A large part of Vicenza was con-
sumed in like manner in 1194. It would be easy to
multiply examples of the miseries inflicted on the peace-
* Ferrari, vol. ii., p. 262. This was in 1194.

192 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

ful burghers in this fashion. They go far to explain the
rancour displayed in later times by the trading classes
towards the noble families who had at one time been
looked on as the natural leaders of the Commune.
Innumerable eflForts were made to reconcile the factions,
or at least to lessen their powers of injury. The annals
of all the cities give instances of solemn reconciliations
brought about by the clergy or the consuls, consecrated
by the most sacred oaths, and sealed by marriages
arranged between hostile families — reconciliations which,
as a rule, did not endure for a year, sometimes not for
a single week. Where the party of peace got the upper '
hand for a moment a favourite policy was to reduce the
height of the towers to a uniform level. In Genoa all
were cut down in 1196 to 80 feet; in Modena, nearly
thirty years later, the Podestii is said to have levelled all
the towers. Alt>enga, Siena, Florence are still full of
the massive stumps of towers thus reduced to moderate
dimensions ; the few which still survive with something
like their former threatening aspect in Pavia, Bologna,
and San Gemignano fill us with astonishment, and
enable us to form some faint idea of the aspect formerly
presented by all Italian cities.

Many writers have tried to explain these feuds by
supposing an antagonism between the original civic
nobility and the later incomers from the country. This
may t>e true in some cases ; but a study of the actual
divisions among the noble families will show that there
is no proof as a rule of any such antagonism. A brawl
at a marriage feast or a banquet, rivalry for the public
offices between two great houses, an insult, an overbear-
ing action would start a quarrel which, spreading to kin-
dred or allied families, might ultimately involve all the
nobles of the city. A broken promise of marriage gave
rise to a strife which deluged Florence with blood for
fifty years, and led to the destruction of one-half of the
nobility. Out of more than seventy noble families we
find thirty-nine on one side, the remainder on the other,
and here the quarrel spread to many families of the
grassi popolani.

Towers op Sam Gemignanq.

0 face page 192.

THE CONQUEST OP THE CONTADO 193

The cities of the more easterly parts of Lombardy have
an unenviable pre-eminence with regard to these feuds*
In the days of the Lombard League there was already
a quarrel of long standing in Ferrara between the family
of the Adelardi and that of the Torelli. We will return
to this contest later on, as also to those which raged with
peculiar violence in the cities of the Veronese Mark almost
from the moment when the Peace of Constance had
removed the check imposed by the struggle against
Barbarossa.

To the war of city with city we have now added a
struggle between class and class within the walls, as well
as constant feuds between the various noble families. It
is a picture of confused strife, in which we seek for some
general principle underlying the struggle — some names
which, adopted as party cries, would serve as a guide to
us among the tangled record of factions. Such a principle
was found in the enduring conflict between the Papacy
and the Empire, and such names were supplied by the
rivalry between two noble families of Germany.

The great House of Welf, Dukes of Bavaria and

Saxony, relations of the Estensi of Italy, and ancestors of

the royal House of Hanover, had constantly struggled

against the predominance of the Emperors, first of those

of the Franconian line, then of those of the House of

Hohenstaufen, and so had been naturally led to support

the Popes in their contests with the Empire. On the

extinction bf the Franconian line a struggle for the throne

had arisen between Lothair of Supplinburg, supported

' by the Welfs, and Conrad and Frederick of Swabia,

heads of the House of Hohenstaufen. We have seen

how both claimants had sought support in Italy, and how

the recognition of one candidate by Milan had led Pavia

and her allies to embrace the cause of the other. On the

death of Lothair, Conrad of Swabia was chosen as

Emperor, but was opposed by Henry the Proud of

Bavaria, and his brother Welf. At a battle fought at

Weinsberg in 1140 between Conrad and Welf, it is said

that the army of the former used as their warcry the

name Waiblingen, the name of one of the Hohenstaufen

194 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

castles, while the opposing anny took for theirs the name
of their leader. From this time forth, it is said, the name
Waiblingen was used as the rallying cry of the supporters
of the Hohenstaufen, that of Welf became synonymous
with the opponents of this House ; and as the Hohen-
staufen were in general at variance with the Papacy, the
name of Welf grew to be equivalent with that of defender
of the Church.

Such would seem to be the best supported view, though
it is by no means a certain one, as to the origin of the
celebrated names which, under the Italianised forms
Guelf and Ghibelline, have obtained such a widespread
celebrity, and served as a rallying cry for faction through
all the most brilliant period of Italian history. The time
of their first introduction into the peninsula has given
rise to much discussion* Some would have it that they
came in at the time of the contest between Lothair and
Conrad ; but this conflicts with the view that the names
were first used as party cries in 1140, after Lothair's
death. Others would trace them to the days of Barba-
rossa and the Lombard League. Contemporary Italian
historians seem, however, to have no knowledge of them
during this struggle. Another widely-spread view is that
these names were brought into Italy for the first time
during the civil war which followed on the death of
Henry VI. in 1197.

Philip of Swabia, brother of Henry, claimed the throne,
and was opposed by Otho, head of the House of Guelf,
who had the support of the Pope.* The war between
the two competitors dragged on for eleven years. Milan
and her allies were naturally adverse to the House of
Hohenstaufen, from which they had suffered so much in
the past ; the adhesion of Milan to Otho's party would of
itself be enough to lead her enemies to favour Philip ;
the various noble factions which were at this period con-
vulsing the Trevisan Mark would attach themselves to
one or the other competitor as interest or inclination
demanded. It is, then, easy to see that the names Guelf

' Otho was really the second son of Barbarossa's opponent, Henry
the Lion, but his elder brother was absent in Palestine.

THE CONQUEST OP THE CONTADO 196

and Ghibelline would be introduced into Italy, and em*
ployed one to distinguish the party of Otho and the
Church, the other to denote the supporters of the House
of Hohenstaufen. As the animosity between city and
city increased, as factions grew fiercer within the walls,
the names spread, and took firm root about the middle of
the thirteenth century. When Philip's death left Otho
triumphant the reason for these party names might seem
to have become extinct. But the internecine warfare in
Lombardy continued, and was fanned into new vigour
by the breach between Otho and the Pope. Milan,
Brescia, and Piacenza were more influenced by their fear
of the Hohenstaufens than by reverence for the Pope ;
they clung therefore to Otho. So did certain of the
nobles of the Mark, who held that the Pope hac^no right
to attempt to depose the lawful Emperor. Pavia, Cre-
mona, and their allies, from of old supporters of the
Hohenstaufens, rallied to the cause of the Pope's new
proidgi, Frederick of Sicily, son of Henry VI. The lords
of Este, strong supporters of the Church, ranged them-
selves on the same side, with their faction among the
nobles of the Mark. All Lombardy was divided into two
hostile camps, following or opposing the head of the
House of Welf in his conflict with the head of the House
of Swabia.> By a curious freak of fortune the Ghibelline
cause was for a moment (1212) identified with that of the
Pope, the cities usually hostile to the Empire, Milan and
Bologna for example, fell under the ban of the Church.
But this was a mere temporary aberration. Once
Frederick was established on the throne things drifted
back to their normal condition. Milan and her allies
were reconciled with the Pope, though maintaining an
attitude of disaffection, if not of open hostility, to the
Emperor. Frederick's party continued to support him,
even when he became estranged from the Papacy ; and
once Otho was dead the nobles of Imperialist tendencies
readily gave him their allegiance.

By a species of malign fate Frederick drifted, almost
against his will, into a conflict with the Pope, at the same

' In I2I2.

106 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

time that he had to deal with a rebellious movement of
Milan and her allies in Lombardy. Once more the Pope
was joined with a Lombard League in a deadly struggle
against the Empire ; the quarrel was fought out to the
bitter end, closing only after thirty years with the ruin of
the House of Hohenstaufen ; and during this period the
name Guelf was thoroughly identified with the party
which opposed the Empire and upheld the interests of the
Church.*

So the names Guelf and Ghibelline represent, in the
main, the opposing principles of ecclesiastical or lay
supremacy. But, together with these broad points of
difference, there were mixed up many secondary causes,
which tended to confuse the main issue. The party names
grafted themselves on to the rivalry between city and
city, to the strife been nobles and popolo, to the personal
feuds of noble families. They long survived their original
causes, and became devoid of meaning, without losing
their animosity.

A complete triumph of one or the other party was
impossible. The Ghibellines admitted the supremacy of
the Church in spiritual matters ; the most advanced
Guelfs never denied the rights of the Emperors as
supreme overlords of Italy. There were Popes who
strove to reconcile the warring factions, and who excom-
municated Guelf cities which had expelled their Ghibel-
lines. There were Emperors who lived at peace with the
Church." In the days of the Emperor Otho the cities
generally counted as Guelf represent for a moment the
principle of Imperial supremacy. There were Guelf
Communes who defied or made war on the Popes.
Matteo Villani declares, and with justice, that the Guelf
party ''was the foundation, and solid and enduring
fortress of the liberty of Italy, and contrary to all tyranny,
so that if any one becomes a tyrant he must of necessity
become a Ghibelline;'' yet we find that Ghibelline Pisa
and Pavia were quite as tenacious of their internal

* Yet neither Rolandino nor Maurisio use the names Guelf or
Ghibelline. After 1250 they became common in the annals.

• Notably Rudolf of Habsburg.

THE CONQUEST OF THE CONTADO 197

liberties, and as adverse to the rule of a despot, as were
those Communes which were most pronouncedly Guelf.
To some extent the Ghibellines were the party of the
nobles, especially of the feudal nobles who looked to the
Emperors to safeguard them from the encroachments of
the cities. Yet in the Trevisan Mark the Estensi, the
Counts of Saint Boniface, and the Lords of Camino,
ultimately ranged themselves on the Guelf side, so did
many of the Conti Guidi of Tuscany, and the Malaspinas
of Lunigiana. The Guelfs were the party of the popolo,
above all of the trading and manufacturing middle
classes, yet both in Pavia and her enemy Piacenza the
nobles were Guelf, the popolo Ghibelline.

This complication of secondary causes, joined to the
fact that the Empire could never aim at the total
destruction of the Papacy, universally recognised as the
necessary centre of Christendom, and that the Popes
could not do without the Empire, to which they looked
for the preservation of order, will go far to explain why
no final victory was possible. The nobles could not
subsist without the trading classes; the latter, in Lom-
bardy at any rate, could not dispense with the nobles.
The rivalry of the cities, the conflicts between internal
factions remained even if Pope and Emperor were for a
moment reconciled. Did a city uphold one side, its
neighbour and rival was forced to range itself on the
other. When Parma went over to the Guelfs in 1247,
Piacenza became Ghibelline ; Milan in the hands of the
Ghibelline nobles continued to fight Cremona, now the
main bulwark of the Guelfs. A momentary triumph of
one party was inevitably followed by a reaction, as old
animosities or new discontents sprang into life ; for a
hundred years the balance between Guelf and Ghibelline
swings up and down with unfailing regularity, until tlie
growth of despotic power put an end to this as to all
other manifestations of municipal freedom, and replaced
all the factions arising from the free play of popular
passions by one dead level of servitude.

Except in the case of the cities of the Mark, where
feuds between rival nobles commenced at a much earlier

198 THE LOMBABD OOMMUNBS

period than elsewhere, we can distinguish two periods in
the struggle of Guelf against Ghibelline. In the first,
lasting up to the middle of the thirteenth century, each
city pursued on the whole a definite policy. Milan,
Bologna, Brescia, and their allies are consistently Guelf ;
Pavia, Cremona, Modena, and their friends uphold the
Ghibellines.< But as faction grew more violent within
the walls we find rapid and often confusing changes of
side. There are Guelfs and Ghibellines contending in
every city, and the triumph of one party is marked by the
expulsion of the other. Opposed to the Commune there
appear the ^'exiles of the Commune," organised as a
regular state, and awaiting their chance of getting
possession in their turn of the city, with the help of
those Communes which were in the hands of their own
party.

In many cities these factions were for a long period
confined to the nobles.' It has been constantly asserted
by historians that in this case the Guelfs represent the
old burgher nobility, the Ghibellines the newer feudal
element. But if we examine the actual facts we shall find
that but little can be advanced in support of this theory.
In Verona the heads of what became the Guelf party were
the feudal chiefs of the Contado,3 the descendants of the
former Counts of the city. In Ferrara the majority of the
nobles were partisans of the Estensi and followed them
when they broke with the Emperor, and the Estensi
were the greatest feudal house of the Mark. In Florence
the leading Ghibelline houses — the Uberti, Lamberti, and
Amidei^can be clearly proved to have been among the
oldest families in the city, dating back to before the
foundation of the Commune.

The real origin of Guelf and Ghibelline factions in the
interior of the Communes would seem to be this. We
have seen that the hostility which almost inevitably broke

' For convenience I use the words Guelf and Ghibelline here,
though they were certainly not in general use before 1250.

" E^., Parma, the cities of the Mark, and Florence.

1 In Verona the Counts of St. Boniface. So in Fam the Counts
of Langosco, a branch of the Counts ol LomeUo.

THE CONQUEST OF THE OONTADO 109

out between neighbouring cities had given rise to a
system of alliances by which all Central Lombardy was
divided into two great factions, headed respectively by
Milan and Pavia. When Barbarossa tried to revive the
Imperial authority in Lombardy, Milan, proud of her
position as the most powerful of all the Communes,
resisted him ; her enemies, the weaker party, ranged
themselves on the side of the Emperor. Hence in
Milan and the cities allied with her there grew up a
tradition of hostility to the Empire which threw them
inevitably on the side of the Papacy. Equally inevitably
Pavia and her allies embraced the cause of the House of
Hohenstaufen. We have, then, a period during which
the cities are arrayed in two hostile camps, one Papal,
the other Imperial. But we have seen that factions of
one kind or another arose in nearly every city. The
weaker party sought for help amongst the enemies of the
Commune. Thus the nobles of Brescia turned for aid to
Cremona and Bergamo, the nobles of Milan in 122 1 got
help from Bergamo and Lodi, the popolo of Piacenza
were aided by Cremona in 1229. The same thing
happened when the feuds were confined to the nobles.
Now that the individual feuds between the cities had
been concentrated around one great principle, the weaker
faction, whether nobles, or popolo, or a party among the
nobles, inevitably embraced the cause opposed to that
which the ruling faction supported. The nobles of
Milan, at first equally Guelf with the popolo, were forced
by gradual steps, and almost against their will, to declare
themselves Ghibelline. In Piacenza, where the nobles
were the stronger party, the popolo sought help at first
from Cremona and Parma, then openly, in 1235, em-
braced the Imperial party. The Uberti and their fol-
lowers in Florence definitely became Ghibelline in 1246,
when they saw a chance of becoming masters of the city
by getting the assistance of the German troops of
Frederick II. In this way, then, and not on any a priori
grounds, must we explain the introduction of the Guelfs
and Ghibellines into every city; and this alone will
account for the fact that while in Milan and Brescia the

200 THB LOMBARD COMMUNES

Ghibellines represent the party of the nobles, in Pavia,
Piacenza, and apparently in Ferrara and Mantua, they
represent the party of the popolo ;» while in Parma, Asti,
and many other cities the middle classes were for long
indifferent to the factions, attending only to the imme-
diate interests of the Commune.^

Of course we must allow something to the influence
of the personal element in deciding which faction would
be adopted by any particular person or party in a city.
The minds of the devout must infallibly have been
affected by the terrors of Papal interdicts and excom-
munications, though, indeed, Bergamo paid no heed to
them for thirty years, and Pavia and Cremona for even
longer periods. The nobles, too, would be specially
influenced by the glamour of the Imperial dignity.
Private motives appear very clearly in the case of
Parma, where on the election to the Papacy of Sinibaldo
Fieschi (Pope Innocent IV.), his kinsmen the Rossi,
Lupi, and others, declared themselves Guelfs, and ulti-
mately dealt a deadly blow to the cause of Frederick II.
by detaching from his side the city which had been his
constant ally for thirty-five years. We find traces of
internal struggles of this kind even in the days of
Barbarossa. Ten nobles of Verona were executed for
intrigues with him at the very commencement of the
Lombard League. During the negotiations at Venice he
gained over a party to his interests in Treviso. The
variations in the attitude of Como and Cremona during
his war with the Lombards would seem to point to the
existence in these cities of parties supporting and opposing
the Empire.

One cannot lay too much stress on the infinite
diversity which is perhaps the main characteristic of
the story of the cities of Italy. As Symonds puts it,

■ It seems almost certain that the supremacy of the Ghibellines in
Verona rested also on the support of the popolo, and above all on
the poorer portion of it

■ This is very noticeable in the case of Asti. The people
followed with equal readiness in the field whichever of the noble
factions had for the moment the upper hand, though on the whole
they were slightly more favourably disposed to the Guelfs.

THE CONQUEST OP THE CONTADO 201

"When the Communes emerge into prominence . . •
they have ah-eady assumed shapes of marked distinctness
and bewildering diversity. Each wears from the first
and preserves a physiognomy that justifies our thinking
and speaking of the town as an incarnate entity. The cities
of Italy, down to the very smallest, bear the attributes of
individuals. The mutual attractions and repulsions that
presided over their growth have given them specific
qualities which they will never lose, which will be
reflected in their architecture, in their customs, in their
language, in their policy, as well as in the institutions of
their government. We think of them involuntarily as
persons, and reserve for them epithets that mark the
permanence of their distinctive characters."'

And so the general facts sketched in the preceding
pages are modified from city to city. The cities of Cen-
tral Lombardy were particularly torn by feuds between
class and class. In the Trevisan Mark such conflicts are
but little heard of ; but here rival noble houses contend
for the supremacy ; and their quarrels are accompanied
by the conflagration of whole quarters within the walls
and the wholesale devastation of the country districts.
In the Emilian towns — Parma, Reggio, and Modena — ^the
energies of the population found vent in the warfare
against neighbouring Communes ; it is not until towards
the close of the first half of the thirteenth century that
internal discord becomes an important feature in their
history, to rage then with as much fury as in the rest of
the valley of the Po.

* Symonds, ''The Age of the Despots/' p. 26.

CHAPTER VIII

THE WARS OF THE CITIES AND THE PACTIONS OP
THE MARK

Italy was left undisturbed from the side of Germany
during the eleven years while Philip and Otho struggled
for the crown. The cities made use of this interval to
pursue their own private quarrels with ever increasing
animosity. It would be impossible even to enumerate
all the feuds between city and city which are recorded
by contemporary annalists. Ferrari makes the curious
calculation that during the period from iiQO to 1250
no less than 1,465 combats are recorded between rival
Communes, without taking into account the conflicts
between smaller places, dependent on greater cities. We
find Milan arrayed against Pavia, Como against Bergamo,
Brescia against Bergamo and Cremona, Verona against
Mantua, Ferrara against Ravenna, Modena against Reggio
— in short, every city against its neighbours.

A particularly violent struggle between Parma and
Piacenza brought into the field all Central Lombardy
as allies of one or the other party. We have already
mentioned that Henry VI., in exchange tor a sum of
money, had granted to Piacenza the town of Borgo San
Donnino, which he seems to have looked on as an
Imperial fief, but which Parma claimed as rightfully
belonging to her. This was in 1 191, and the two cities im-
mediately flew to arms. Both parties alternately got pos-
session of the disputed town, both sought the help of their
allies. Pavia, Cremona, Bergamo, Reggio, and Modena
took part with Parma ; Milan, Como, Brescia, Asti, Ales-
sandria, Vercelli, and Novara gave help to Piacenza. A

THE WARS OF THE CITIES 203

pitched battle was fought between the strength of each
party in 11991 in which the advantage would seem to
have remained with Parma and Cremona. In the next
years the party of Parma still more gained the upper
hand. Como and Milan suffered heavily ; discord broke
out in Brescia t)etween nobles and people, with the
result that the former called in the help of Cremona
and Bergamo; and these gained a complete victory
over the popolo, whose Carroccio was brought in
triumph to CrsxxiQn^L. The latter city seems for some
unexplained reason to have been rapidly rising to a
position second only to that of Milan, and to have begun
to supersede in influence her old ally Pavia. As well as
fighting Brescia, Milan, and Piacenza in the cause of
Parma, she was able to come to the help of Mantua,
which was being hard pressed by Verona; and the
united forces succeeded in inflicting on the latter city
a defeat so severe that the Veronese had to agree to a
disadvantageous peace.

Pavia was not so successful in her warfare against
Milan. Isolated from her allies — for Lodi had made
peace with Milan in 1198 and Milan, having given up her
attempts to subdue Novara had exchanged her former
hostility to that city for an alliance — Pavia was ringed
round with enemies, and began to weaken under their
incessant attacks. The capture of the strong castle of
Vigevano after a siege of six weeks, and a great defeat
in the open country left the rich district of the Lomelline
between the Rivers Ticino and Po at the mercy of the
Milanese ; and Pavia was forced to submit to hard peace
conditions, and to join the alliance of Milan. In 1202
we find Pavia forced to follow the banners of her
rival in a raid against the territory of Bergamo.

More peaceful counsels began to prevail in Lombardy
as the preparations for the Fourth Crusade turned men's
thoughts towards a general pacification of Christendom.
Cremona and Bergamo were reconciled with Brescia and
Como ; and in 1202 Piacenza and Milan made a treaty
with Cremona and Parma, by which Borgo San Donnino
was left to the latter. A war between Reggio and

204 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

Modena, in which the latter had been aided by Verona
and Ferrara, was also brought to an end ; and, for a
moment, there was an almost universal peace.

It is unfortunate that there was no contemporary writer
during the twelfth and early thirteenth century who might
have given us a general history of Lombardy. As some
compensation for this a succession of writers have pre-
served to us, not indeed the history of Lombardy as a
whole, nor even a continuous picture of the life of a
particular city, but detached pictures now of one city
at one particular epoch, now of another at a di£Ferent
time. In this way, though in the records of each
individual city there are gaps, yet each in turn rises
before us for a moment, and from the glimpses thus
afforded to us we can piece together the history of the
whole.

Thus our knowledge of the beginnings of the Commune
at Milan and of the strife about the marriage of the clergy
comes to us from the chronicles of Arnolph, and of the
elder and younger Landolph, the latter of whom was
himself much involved in some of the events he relates.
We get a vivid picture of the rivalry between neigh-
bouring cities in the rude poem by an unknown citizen
of Como telling the story of the ten years' war of his
native town against Milan. The Morenas give a valuable
insight into the feelings with which Lodi and the other
towns oppressed by Milan regarded Barbarossa's war
with that city. The bald pages of the Milanese Sire
Raoul are yet vivified here and there by a glow of
patriotic pride as he tells the tale of the resistance of
the Lombards to the Emperor. As Sir Raoul ends,
Cremona comes into our view. The annals of Bishop
Sicard and of another unknown writer give us only the
barest outline of facts, yet enable us to understand in
some measure the fierce energy and the expansive force
which run through the life of the Communes at this
period. Then the Emilian cities take up the tale, their
annals increasing in volume and in literary value as
the great struggle between the Papacy and the doomed
House of Hohenstaufen draws to its close. From

THE WARS OF THE CITIES 205

amongst the unnamed writers of the annals of Modena
and Reggio, of Parma and Piacenza, stands out clearly
the personality of Fra Salimbene of Parma. Less a
serious historian than a recounter of his own experi-
ences, he has reproduced, as in a mirror, the age in
which he lived, with its fierce party struggles and its
great figures such as Frederick IL and St. Louis of
France. He brings before us by a hundred anecdotes
the daily life of the clergy, of the feudal lords, of the
merchants and artisans of the Communes. The political
events of the time are recounted, together with the
strange outbreaks of religious fanaticism among the
people, the careers of eminent Churchmen or party
leaders, and the petty details of daily life. The extra*
ordinary frankness of the work is equalled by the
clearness and boldness with which men and events are
judged. The outspokenness with which he treats of
the manners of the age is the more remarkable when
we remember that he composed the work in his old
age for the information of his niece, a nun at Parma.

We would give much for some chronicle which would
have preserved to us the outlook on affairs of Pavia, ever
battling stubbornly for the Hohenstaufen, ever slipping
gradually back from its proud position as the rival and
equal of Milan. But the loyalty to the Empire and the
hatred of Milan, which are the two main features in the
story of Pavia, inspired none of its citizens to tell the tale
of his country's battle in a losing cause. It is not until
the early fourteenth century, when the city had sunk
before her rival, when the hand of God lay heavy on
her, that one of the sons was led to give us the '' Praises
of Pavia," a work in which the loyalty of the writer
cannot disguise from us that the sun of the capital of
the Lombards had set for ever.

Towards the close of the thirteenth century we again
meet with Milanese writers ; and we find in the chronicles
of Asti one of the most vivid impressions left to us of
the turbulent life of a Commune where almost every year
was marked by a revolution, and yet, in spite of all, the
citizens prospered and extended their power far and wide.

206 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

But of all the provinces of Italy there is none which
has left us such numerous and such brilliant records
of the thirteenth century as the Trevisan Mark. From
Gerardo Maurisio of Vicenza, the partisan of the House
of Romano, whose exploits he relates, to the statesman
Mussato, the worthy precursor of the humanists of the
Renaissance, the contemporary of Dante and looked on
by his own age as a genius even superior to the great
Florentine, we have a succession of real historians with
an insight into political affairs and a skill in recounting
events not unworthy of the remarkable facts they relate.
And among the diversified pages of Italian history there
are none more striking than the tale of the feuds which
tormented the Trevisan Mark —

'' The land which Po and Adigc lave,"

as Dante styles it, and which its children, before their
quarrels had laid it waste, fondly called ** The Mark of
Love"' — ^as they are related to us in the writings of
Maurisio and Ferreto of Vicenza, of Rolandino and
Mussato of Padua, to mention only the four chief
writers of this portion of Italy.

Either on account of the hilly nature of a large part of
this district, or profiting by the feuds between the chief
cities, which here were all nearly equal in power, the
feudal lords of the Mark preserved their independence
longer than did most of those in the rest of Lombardy.
The Counts of San Bonifazio, descendants of the former
Counts of Verona, held their ground almost at the very
gates of that city, within which they still preserved certain
rights. The House of Este, seated on the southern slopes
of the Euganean hills and in the marshy district called
the Polesine of Rovigo, between the Adige and the Po,
and the lords of Camino, on the borderland between
Treviso, Belluno, and the lands of the Patriarch of
Aquileia, were able, through their own resources or
their alliances, to preserve their independence all through

' Cantii, ** Ezzelino da Romano/' p. 135.

THE WARS OP THE CITIES 207

the twelfth century. Later in origin than these three
families, but destined to obtain a fearful prominence over
them all, were the lords called first of Onara, a name
they subsequently changed for that of their chief seat,
Romano.

The founder of this family, a certain Etzel, or Ezelo,
is said to have come into Italy in the train of the Em-
peror Conrad the Salic, a poor knight owning only one
horse. He received from this Emperor the fiefs of
Onara and Romano, and from the Bishop of Vicenza he
obtained the small town of Bassano. From him was
descended Ezzelino, surnamed the Stammerer, who
largely increased the possessions of his family, obtain-
ing many castles and lands as fiefs of the Patriarchs
of Aquileia and the Bishops of Feltre and Belluno. In
this way, besides many scattered possessions, he became
master of a compact territory between the lands of
Vicenza, Treviso, and Padua, and grew to be equal
in power to any other of the feudal lords of the Mark.

In his younger days he is said to have gained great
renown by his exploits during the Crusade led by the
Emperor Conrad ; and, on his return, he played a pro-
minent part in the affairs of the Mark. Following the
conunon practice of the feudal lords whose lands lay on
the borders of two or more Communes, he sought to
maintain his freedom from the control of any one city
by becoming a burgher of Vicenza, Treviso, and Padua,
in each of which he built for himself a strong house.
His skill in arms, his wisdom in the arts of peace, caused
him to be named by the confederate cities one of their
generals in the war against Barbarossa. We find him,
together with Anselm da Doara, in command of the
forces sent by the League to the relief of Alessandria ;
and at the Peace of Constance a special paragraph in the
treaty records that he was once more readmitted to the
Imperial favour.* He cannot have survived for long

' Some writers have rather absurdly taken this to mean that he
deserted the cause of the League. Rather it shows that he felt that
he required a special clause to secure him from the vengeance of
the Emperor.

208 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

after the conclusion of this peace ; but in these days of
his old age he committed the crime which blemishes his
previous good repute, and was the first act in the bloody
drama which was to work such havoc in the Mark*

The family of Camposampiero were lords of wide
domains in the dioceses of Padua and Treviso. A
marriage was projected between the eldest son of Tiso-
lino, head of this family, and Cecilia of Baone and
Abano, one of the richest heiresses in the territory of
Padua. Before concluding the agreement Tissolino con-
sulted his father-in-law, Ezzelino. The latter betra;fed
the confidence thus reposed in him, and, sending rich
presents to Cecilia's guardian, obtained her hand for his
son, another Ez^lino, called in later times the Monk,
from his retirement to a cloister in his old age. The
marriage was celebrated before the Camposampieros
could interfere; and the treacherous act of the lord of
Romano excited their fiercest resentment. Not long
after her marriage, as Cecilia was visiting her Paduan
estates, she was surprised by Tisolino's son and brutally
outraged. The younger Ezzelino repudiated his bride,'
and from these mutual injuries a deadly feud sprang up,
which was to end only witli the almost complete destruc-
tion of the House of Camposampiero.

Deeds of violence such as these, or political jealousies,
had from an early period led to feuds within the aristo-
cracies which ruled the Communes of the Mark. As
early as 1172 we read that Verona was burned by its own
citizens, and in 1194 a nearly similar fate overtook
Vicenza. In this city a party known as the Maltraversi,
headed by the descendants of the former Counts of
Vicenza, was at variance with the family of Vivario and
their supporters, amongst whom was Ezzelino the Monk.
The quarrel broke out into open violence in 1194 ; the
two factions fought in the streets ; Ezzelino and his party,
to defend themselves, set fire to some houses, and the
flames spreading, consumed a large part of the city.

This was the commencement of a long and compli-
cated series of wars, which involved all the cities of the
' She afterwards married a noble Venetian.

SOAVE.

Another View.

To face page 208.

THE WARS OP THE CITIES 209

Mark. Ezzelino ajtid the Vivarii withdrew to Bassano,
which now, like the greater cities, had begun to govern
itself as a Communei but where he still maintained his
rank as the chief citizen. Vicenza claimed dominion over
the town, as successor to the rights of the Bishop ; but
Bassano had no desire to be swallowed up by its power-
ful neighbour, and, with Ezzelino, bid defiance to the
burghers of Vicenza. The interposition of Verona
brought about a peace, and the banished faction
returned. A few years later, however, Ezzelino and
Bassano were again at variance with Vicenza ; and this
time it would appear that both parties in that city were
united in attacking the lord of Romano. He turned to
Padua for help, and this city, glad of a chance of wiping
out old injuries, fell on the Vicentines and routed them,
taking over two thousand prisoners. Vicenza sought
assistance from the Veronese, who came with their
Carroccio, and ravaged the Paduan lands right up to the
city walls, until the terrified Paduans released their
prisoners. On this Ezzelino addressed himself also to
Verona, became a burgher of that Commune, and put
his chief castles into its hands, with the result that the
Veronese brought about a reconciliation between him
and Vicenza, by the terms of which he was readmitted to
that city, and restored to all his possessions. But this
irritated the Paduans, and, instigated no doubt by the
Camposampieros, they fell on Onara and seized the castle.
In the meantime Treviso had attacked Belluno, which
was still under the rule of its Bishop ; the Patriarch of
Aquileia interposing to end the quarrel, was himself
involved in it; Treviso incited a number of the
Patriarch's vassals to revolt from him ; and he, to obtain
help from Venice, sought burgher rights there. Hence a
war between Treviso and Venice. And about the same
period Verona was at deadly feud with Mantua. In
short, the whole Mark was filled with rapine and blood-
shed until, in 1202, the interposition of the Pope, who
was busily organising the Fourth Crusade, brought about
a general peace in the Mark as well as in Central Lom-
bardy.

210 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

This peace was not oi long duration. The very next
year Bologna fdl on Modena. These Communes before
the days of the Lombard League had had frequent
quarrels, arising out of conflicting claims to the small
town of Nonantola, and to the allegiance of several
of the feudal lords on their borders. The feud whidi
now began afresh lasted, with but short intervals of
truce, for nearly fifty years; and a permanent rivalry
between Bologna and Modena may now be added to
those between Milan and Pavia, and Parma and
Piacenza.

In the Mark the peace scarcely lasted longer. A fresh
outrage of Ezzelino's on the family of Camposampiero
brought on new hostilities between the two families, in
which the Marquis of Este appears as an opponent of
Ezzelino* Peace was again made, only to be broken by
an attempt of the Camposampieros to murder Ezzdino
while he was attending a great festival at Venice. Azzo
of Este was walking with Ezzelino at the moment of the
attack, and the latter asserted that, far from trying to
help him, the Marquis had done his best to hinder him
from defending himself. The two families of Este and
Romano were now permanently estranged.

Verona was the theatre in which they first fought out
their quarrel. Here the Count of San Bonifazio stood at
the head of one party, which was opposed by the family
of Montecchi (Shakespeare's Monts^gues) and their ad-
herents. Ezzelino had been Podesta in Vienna in 1200,
and had established amicable relations with the Mon-
tecchi ; Azzo of Este was on terms of friendship with
San Bonifazio. The two factions among the nobles
appealed to arms to settle their differences. It is not
very clear how often one party expelled the other during
the years 1204 to 1208, but it is certain that early in 1206
the Montecchi were driven out, after a fierce fight in the
streets and a conflagration which destroyed a great part
of the city. The defeated party appealed to Ezzelino,
and found a powerful suppcMier in Salinguerra, the com-
petitor with Azzo of Este for the rule of Ferrara.

In this city, we are told, there existed two factions,

TECB WABS OF THE CITIES 2X1

already of long standing in the days of William Marche-
sella d^li Adelardi, the liberator of Ancona. The
majority of the nobles, with the Adelardi at their head,
were at variance with Toreilo Salinguerra, head of the
chief noble house in the city, who was favoured by the
people.1 William Marchesella, being left without male
heirs, determined to end the feud by giving his niece,
Marchesella by name, and the inheritor of his vast pos-
sessions, in marriage to Torello's son. As she was still
only a child, it was settled that on William's death
Toreilo was to assume the guardianship of her and her
estates until such time as the marriage could be
celebrated.

But this arrangement by no means suited the partisans
of the Adelardi, eager to continue the feud even when
their leader had abandoned it. As soon as William was
dead they sought a new head in the Marquis of Este,
whose territory lay along the northern borders of
Ferrara. An agreement was soon come to with him ;
Marchesella was carried off from the care of Salinguerra,
and brought to the castle of the Marquis, where she was
at once betrothed to his son Obizzo. She died before the
marriage could take place, and, by William's will, half of
his lands were now to go to his sister's sons, the rest to
the Church. But so powerful was the spirit of faction
that it prevailed over self-interest, and William's nej^ws
voluntarily resigned their inheritance in favour of the
House of Este in return for its support against Salin-
guerra. The lands thus acquired and the support of a
whole faction in the Commune gave the Marquis a posi-
tion in Ferrara which ultimately led to his posterity
obtaining sovereign rights over the city. For the present
he was received as a burgher, and struggled with Salin-
guerra for pre-eminence. ^

Naturally the quarrel of the two factions now assumed
a very bitter aspect, and all Ferrara was filled with con-
fusion. The chronicler tells us that the rival parties

' The chronicler of Ferrara says, "The greatest part of the
Plebeiaiis and the Ramberti and some other powerful men of the
oobies favoured Saliaguerra." Most oi the nobles opposed him.

214 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

appear here as allies of the Imperialistic Cremona, ^ich
in the very same year was once more at war witii the
Papally inclined Milan and Brescia. This goes far
towards proving that the factions in the Mark had not
yet assumed any decided position towards either Pope or
Emperor, and that the real crystallising of the waning
factions among the nobles and of the rival cities into the
definite shape of groups ranged under the banner of the
Empire or of the Church did not take place until a
period later than that which is generally assigned to it'

Following up his success at Verona, Azzo in the next
year (1209) expelled Ezzelino from Vicenza by the help
of the Vivarii. In the open field, however, Ezzelino, at
the head of his own vassals and the burghers of Bassano,
entirely defeated the forces of Vicenza. Azzo was only
just in time to drive back the victors from the walls of
that city; and then, assembling all his strength, he
advanced to attack Bassano. Treviso, however, where
Ezzelino had powerful supporters, moved to his help ;
so, too, did Padua, always ready to range herself in
opposition to Vicenza. Salinguerra seized the oppor-
tunity to make a sudden attack on Ferrara, in the
absence of so many of the partisans of his rival, and
once more made himself master of that town. This
news caused Azzo to retreat from his operations against
Bassano, and the two factions once more faced one
another on equal terms. At this moment Otho, left
uncontested ruler of Germany by the murder of his rival
Philip, descended by the Brenner, and issued orders for
a general cessation of hostilities.

The rival leaders went to Otho's camp, where a
reconciliation, a temporary one as it proved, was brought
about, not without difficulty. Otho seems to have
recognised the advantage it would be to him to attach
the great nobles of the Mark to his interests, irrespective
of their personal rivalries. He made large grants to
Salinguerra, brought back the Montecchi to Verona,
and installed Ezzelino as Podesta of Vicenza. Azzo of

' t,e., until the time of the quarrel between Frederick II. and the
Lombards in 1226.

THE WARS OF THE CITIES 215

Este had received the Marqnisate of Ancona from the
Pope, he now took it a second time from Otho's hands.
This favour, however, did not counterbalance in Azzo's
mind the resentment he felt at the benefits conferred
on his enemies. He was Otho's kinsman, and as such
expected the Imperial support in his private quarrels.
His future conduct towards Otho bears witness of this
resentment. ^

For the moment, however, peace reigned in Italy. The
Pope was friendly to Otho; and the cities through
which he passed on his journey to Rome received him
with fitting honour. Reaching the Eternal City, and
renewing his lavish promises to respect the rights of
the Holy See, and to surrender all claims on Romagna,
Sp<deto, the Mark of Ancona, and the lands of the
Countess Matilda, Otho received the Imperial Crown
at the hands of Innocent III.

The harmony between PontiflF and Caesar lasted but
for a short time. The blame for the rupture must be
entirely laid upon Otho, whom success had blinded
to the dangers of a quarrel with the Pope. With many
good qualities he was of a rough, overbearing disposi-
tion, ungrateful to his supporters and inclined to over-
estimate his own strength. Seeing himself, as he
thought, secure in possession of the throne, he began
to regret the sacrifices of the Imperial rights which
he had made to purchase Papal support, and gave a
ready ear to those of his councillors who urged him
to violate his engagements and revive all the claims
of former Emperors to dominion in Italy.

Otho had made the most lavish promises to the Pope ;
but no sooner was he crowned than he changed his
attitude. The investiture of Azzo of Este as Marquis
of Ancona seemed an encroachment on the Papal rights
over that district ; and the Emperor still further infringed
the rights of the Church by seisdng many towns in
Central Italy and setting up a Duke in Spoleto. Former
Emi>erors had, it is true, made similar appointments,
but Otho had solemnly sworn to acknowledge the
Pope as sole ruler of Spoleto, Romagna and the Mark

216 THB LOMBARD COMMUNES

of Ancona and to abandon to him the inheritance of
Matilda, or that part of it at least which comprised
Southern Tuscany. Still more unjustifiable was his attack
on Apulia and Sicily, the dominions of Innocent's ward
Frederick, son of Henry VI., the last representative of
the House of Hohenstaufen. In league with some dis-
contented barons of the mainland, he invaded Frederick's
kingdom in 1210 and soon made himself master of a
large number of cities and fortresses.

The repeated expostulations of Innocent proving
fruitless, that ponti£F as a last resource excommunicated
Otho, and declared his deposition from the Empire.
Papal emissaries were not long in exciting a revolt in
Germany, where Otho had never been able to make
himself very popular ; and a deputation from many
leading nobles and prelates was sent to Frederick to
offer him the Imperial crown and to beg him to come
in person and head his supporters north of the
Alps.

Frederick's counsellors shrank from the dangers of
the enterprise, but the young monarch— he was only
sixteen— overruled their fears ; and relying on Innocent's
support he left his kingdom and proceeded to Rome,
where he was received by Pope Innocent with every
mark of friendship.

The Genoese, who had most important commercial
relations with Sicily, had easily been won over to
Frederick's side. Their fleet escorted him to Genoa,
where he waited until the efforts of the Pope to bring
the Lombards over to his cause should bear fruit,
and enable him to pass across the valley of the Po
into Germany.

The news of the outbreak in Germany had determined
Otho to recross the Alps. Before leaving Lombardy
he had summoned the deputies of the cities to meet
him at Lodi to renew their oaths of fealty. Almost
all obeyed, but Azzo of Este, more obedient to the
Pope than to the Emperor, did not appear, and his
example was followed by the Communes of Pavia,
Cremona, and Verona. From this moment the House

QJ ^ ^

o c c
X X c:

c c •=

a£.:^

THE WARS OP THE CITIBS 217

of Este stands pre-eminent as the champion of the
Papal cause in Lombardy.

Innocent's e£Forts to win over the cities met with only
a partial success. Close allies of the Popes as the
Milanese had been during the preceding half century,
the remembrance of their sufferings at the hands of
the House of Hohenstaufen outweighed their attachment
to the Papacy, and they returned a flat refusal to the
overtures of Innocent. Piacenza followed the example
of Milan, so did its smaller neighbours Lodi and Crema.
But this attitude was in itself enough to cause Pavia
and Cremona to side with the Pope. Besides, these
two cities were as attached to the Hohenstaufens as
Milan was averse to them. Parma had long been allied
with Cremona against Piacenza ; Ferrara, Mantua, and
Verona were under the influence of the Marquis Azzo,
Modena was leagued with them ; all these cities declared
for Frederick. So did Reggio, though apparently only
for a moment, for the next year we find the Commune,
aided by Bologna, at war with Modena. Bologna,
like Milan, feared the Hohenstaufens, and so held with
Otho ; its attitude determined that of its allies in
Romagna Cesena, Faenza, Imola, Forli, Bertinoro. But
these were confronted in that province by a hostile
league formed by Rimini, Pesaro, Fano, and Urbino,
which aU ranged themselves on the side of Frederick.

In the Mark Ezzelino, with Salinguerra, remained
faithful to Otho. Vicenza and Treviso were ruled by
their partisans ; Padua, too, was on their side. In
Brescia nobles and people were, as usual, at variance ;
the former leaned towards Cremona, the latter towards
Milan ; the victory of the popular party secured the
Commune for Otho.«

In short, all Lombardy was divided into two hostile
camps, to which later writers have applied the names
Guelf and Ghibelline. But, by a curious confusion,
the Ghibelline cause was for the moment that of the
Pope ; Pavia and Cremona, which had braved the Papal

. ' Acquis Alba, Alessandria, Como, Vercelli, Novara, Tortona, were
all allied with Otho and the Milanese.

218 THDB LOMBABD COMMUNES

tRunders in the cause of the House of Swabia, now
found themselves the allies of the Church in support
of that same house; Milan and Piacenza, which had
suffered so much from the Empire, were now arrayed
in defence of the Emperor against the pretensions of
the Papacy; and the Emperor himself was head of
that House of Welf whose name had become synony-
mous with that of champion of the Church.

Frederick remained nearly three months in Genoa,
vainly endeavouring to secure a passage across Lombardy
by negotiations. The slender forces at his disposal made
it dangerous to attempt to force a road ; but delay
seemed more dangerous still, and the young sovereign
resolved to risk everything on a bold stroke.

Asti, the chief city in Piedmont, had embraced his
cause, so had the Marquis of Montferrat, whose house
from of old had been faithful to the Hohenstaufens and
allied with Pavia. But Alessandria, founded by a pontiff,
had already developed such hostility to Asti, that it
now refused to listen to Innocent, and with Alba and
Acqui prepared to resist his protigi. Frederick, how-
ever, evaded the hostile forces and came safely to Asti.
The road north was barred by Vercelli and Novara —
the former from of old hostile to Montferrat, the latter
in alliance with Milan since that city had renounced
farther attempts to oppress its smaller neighbours. The
westward road seems to have been closed to him by
the hostility of the Count of Savoy, so Frederick pro-
ceeded to Pavia, from which he hoped to make his
way eastward to where the cities supporting him formed
a solid group and commanded the entrance to the
passes leading northward through Tyrol.

But the territories of Milan and Lodi separated Pavia
from her allies further east ; and a strong force of
Milanese patrolled the banks of the Lambro which
ran between the lands of Pavia and Lodi. The young
Frederick, impatient of further delay, determined again
on a bold policy, and setting out from Pavia under cover
of the lyght, he succeeded in evading his enemies, and
reached Cremona, where he was welcomed by Azzo

THE WAKS OF THE CITIES 219

and his partisans.^ From here his passage to Verona
and the road northward to Germany was easy. The
direct route over the Brenner into the valley of the Inn
proved^ however, to be held against him ; and he was
forced to make his way over the mountains into the
valley of the Upper Rhine, where he was received as
sovereign by the Bishop of Coire and the Abbot of
St. Gallen. Pushing on regardless of danger, he reached
Constance with a handful of followers, only to find
that Otho with a considerable force was only a few
hours' march distant, and that his cooks and other
servants had already entered the town to prepare for
their master's arrival. Frederick's position seemed des-
perate, but his eloquence prevailed on Bishop and
burghers to range themselves on his side; the gates
were closed, and Otho, unprepared for a siege, was
forced to retire.

For the next six years the two rivals fought out
their quarrel in Germany, success inclining ever more
and more to the side of Frederick, until in 1218 Otho's
death placed him in undisputed possession of the
Empire. Italy during this period was left quite free
from all interference from the side of Germany, and
the cities were able to satisfy their mutual animosities
tinder the banners of the two claimants to the Imperial
crown.

The war was at first carried on on a large scale, resemb-
ling in this the struggle of the days of the Lombard
League, and involving, as we have seen, nearly all the
cities of Lombardy. Cremona comes forward at this
period as the chief opponent of Milan and the principal
supporter of Frederick. A great confederate army from
Milan, Piacenza, and six other Communes, as well as
many of the popular party of Brescia, invaded the
Cremonese territory in 1213. At Castel Leone they
surrounded the forces of Cremona, which were aided by
three hundred Brescian nobles and some help from
Pavia ; but these, drawing courage from their desperate
situation, and in spite of inferior numbers, gained a

' Most of his escort were slain or captured by the Milanese.

220 THB LOMBARD GOMMUNBS

complete victory, taking four thousand prisoners and
the Carroccio of Milan.'

This victory was not followed up ; and the Milanese
turned against Pavia, hoping to crush this city, which
was almost isolated in the midst of the partisans of Otho.
Tortona, Vercelli, Alba, Acqui, and Alessandria joined
their forces to those of Milan, but here, again, the allies
met with a complete overthrow, two thousand prisoners
being left in the hands of the Pavesans. The supporters
of Innocent and Frederick saw in these disasters the
working of the Papal interdict which had been pro-
nounced against Milan and Bologna in the previous year.
Modern historians suggest that the internal dissensions
between nobles and people, which broke out with renewed
violence in this year in Milan were largely responsible
for the ill-success of her arms.

In the Veronese Mark also the war was at first prose-
cuted on a large scale. Azzo dt Este had led an army
assembled from Verona, Ferrara, Mantua, and other
Communes ^ against Ezzelino, on whose side were Tre-
viso, Padua, Bassano, and Vicenza. Azzo had hoped to
capture this latter city, but his forces were completely
routed near the walls.

This was in 1212. Soon afterwards Azzo died, and
with his death the league which he had built up in
Eastern Lombardy began to fall asunder. Salinguerra
attacked Ferrara, and forced Azzo's son and successor,
AldobrandinOy to share the rule with him, both uniting
in naming the Podesti. A private quarrel between
Aldobrandino and Padua led to the siege of the castle of
Este by the latter city, helped by Ezzelino. After an
obstinate defence the young marquis was forced to sur-
render, to become a burgher of Padua, and to acknow-
ledge the overlordship of the Commune over Este and the
adjoining district.

* According to Raumer, p. 1891 vol. iii., the Cremonese were
surrounded by their enemies, and asked for a truce, as it was close
to Pentecost On this being refused they fought with the courage
of despair.

* Pavia, Cremona, Reggio, and Brescia (this city was still under
the influence of the nobles).

Trkviso,
Salone del Gran Consiglio.

let page 27Q.

THE WARS OP THE CITIES 221

The death of Azzo, and the overtures of Innocent to
Salinguerra, on whom he conferred a large portion of the
lands of the Countess Matilda in the dioceses of Bologna
and Modena, led to a pacification between the supporters
of Otho and Frederick in the eastern cities. The Mon-
tecchi returned to Verona, the opponents of Ezzelino to
Vicenza. Matters drifted back to the old state of desul-
tory warfare between city and city, with intervals of
peace, broken almost as soon as made.' The occasion of
one of these quarrels is so characteristic that it deserves
to be given at some length.

The people of Treviso, to celebrate an interval of peace,
had summoned all the neighbouring populations to a
splendid festival in their city. Amongst other amuse-
ments they had provided a mimic castle of wood adorned
in the most sumptuous manner with coverings of vair,
ermine, samite, purple, and scarlet, set off with gold
and costly jewels. Within this castle were stationed the
twelve most beautiful ladies of Padua with their attendant
maidens, armed with all kinds of flowers and fruits. The
chosen youths of the neighbouring cities advanced in
bands to attack the fortress defended by such a garrison.
The ladies made a long and vigorous defence. Showers
of violets and lilies, apples, pears, grapes, and even the
choice fruits of the East mingled with perfumed waters
of various kinds, hurtled through the air. In spite of
these missiles the ladies stuck to their posts. But finally
a band of Venetians, "fighting prudently and delectably,"
pressed forward through the rain of projectiles, breached
the walls, and planted on them the banner of St. Mark.
The youth of Padua, inflamed at this sight, pressed for-
ward in turn to force their way inside the fortifications.
The two bands were crushed together in the breach ;
angry words arose; from words both parties came to
blows; the Paduans proved the stronger, and in the
struggle seized on the banner of St. Mark and tore it.

With difficulty the Trevisans restored order, and drove
both parties out of the town. The Venetians flew to arms

' So in 1213 Reggio and Bologna were at war with Modena, in
1215 Reggio and Cremona were at war with Verona and Mantua.

222 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

to demand satisfaction for the outrage to their flag. The
government of Padua refused it. Hence a war between
the two cities, in which the Paduans got the worst. As
a condition of peace they were forced to send to Venice
twenty-five of the young men who had destroyed the
banner^ Once arrived in Venice these were courteously
treated, and sent home honourably to their own city.
But in memory of this, down to the last da]rs of the
Venetian republic, the city of Padua sent every year on
a fixed day a tribute of thirty hens. These were let loose
in Venice, and were chased and killed by the populace,
among whom the day of the '* Paduan hens " was one of
the most noted festivals.

The war in Central and Western Lombardy was carried
on vigorously during these years* The Milanese, having
put an end to their internal quarrels, began to make up
for their previous reverses. In two successive campaigns
they made themselves masters of a great portion of the
territory of Pavia ; then, in alliance with the Count of
Savoy, they proceeded westward against the Marquis of
Montferrat and captured Casale, now subject to or allied
with the Marquis, and, to please the burghers of VercelU,
carried o£F the whole population into captivity.

Successes gained by Cremona and Parma on the
eastern frontiers of Milan and Piacenza did not check
the progress of the Milanese towards the west. Pavia,
almost surrounded by enemies — ^having as immediate
allies only Asti and Montferrat — begins at last to sink
beneath the attacks of her hereditary foe. Milan was
now far superior in commerce and manufactures, in
population and wealth, to the former metropolis of the
Lombard kings. We can assign no certain reason for
the decline of Pavia. She has left us no records from
this period, and the annals of other cities throw no light
on her internal affairs. Perhaps dissensions between
nobles and people, of the existence of which some years
later we have proof, crippled her forces abroad, or dried
up her wealth at home ; all we can say with certainty is
that the place formerly held by Pavia as the second city
of Lombardy must henceforth be assigned to Cremona.

THE WARS OF THE CITIES 223

In 1 2 17 Milan obtained a decisive advantage over ber
rival. A great defeat of Pavia and Asti forced the former
city to renounce Frederick's party and to enrol herself
among the allies of Milan. In the following year a con-
federate force, composed of Milanese and Pavesans, with
the contingents of eight other Communes, advanced
against Cremona and Parma. Help came to these latter
from Modena and Reggio ; and these four cities scattered
the opposing army at Zibello, in that part of the lands of
Cremona which lay south of the Po.

The battle, like most others in these contests, led to no
immediate results. The Lombards were beginning to
weary of the war ; the death of Otho, leaving Frederick
undisputed master of Germany, took from Milan and her
allies all pretext for continuing the struggle. Innocent
III., greatest of the medieval Popes, had died in 1215 ;
his successor, Honorius III., was turning all his energies
to arousing the nations of the West to a new Crusade.
His emissaries were already busied in working for a
universal pacification. Under these circumstances peace
was soon brought about. Milan and her allies were freed
from the interdict Frederick was recognised as Emperor.
Parma, Cremona, and their allies made peace with the
former partisans of Otho. Even the interminable quar-
rels of the factions in the Trevisan Mark were stilled.
The year 12 19 is passed over in silence by all the
annalists ; for once peace reigned in Lombardy.

It is noteworthy that in all the warfare of this period
we hear of no attempts of one city to destroy or enslave
another. The strength of the majority of the Communes
was too equally balanced to make such an attempt
possible; and the penalty paid by Milan in the days
of Barbarossa for the destruction of Liodi and Como had
no doubt effectually taught the more powerful cities the
danger of trying to build up an empire at the expense
of their weaker neighbours. Besides, the conquest or
destruction of any Commune would have been too glaring
a violation of the Treaty of Constance to have passed
unpunished by any En^>er6r who claimed the smallest
influence in Italy. Except for spasmodic efforts of Cre-

226 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

the castles of the feudal lords, or gathered in those which
the policy of the Communes led them to build along
their frontiers. At frequent intervals, far closer together
than in any other part of Europe then, or even in most
lands to-day, the walls of the cities rose above the plain,
their outline diversified by the lofty and slender towers
of the nobles, or by the graceful bell towers of the
churches with their open upper storeys. Round about
their walls swamp and forest ceased. The careful
husbandry which distinguishes modern Lombardy had
begun to take root wherever there was protection from
hostile inroads.

Here and there were to be found great monasteries,
with dependent townships gathered round them. But
this was rarer in Lombardy than in other countries.
Italian monasticism on the whole preferred the cities.
Except for the Irish foundation of Bobbio and a few
others, the valley of the Po had little to show that could
compare with Cluny or Clairvaux or Fontevrault, or
with the princely abbeys which were scattered thickly
over the country districts of England and the Teutonic-
speaking lands.

In spite of the constant turmoil, there was an immense
increase in the prosperity of the country during the
period which followed the Peace of Constance. We find
proofs of this in the notices of the annals telling of the
extension and embellishment of the cities. The circuit
of the walls was extended as the swelling population
overflowed the older limits. Pavia is said to have had
three successive rings of fortifications by the early
fourteenth century. Modena increased the circuit of her
fortifications in 1188. Reggio began to surround herself
with new walls some forty years later.

Streets were paved, a thing almost unknown in the rest
of Europe, canals dug to irrigate the fields, or to supply
the needs of the various industries. The Naviglio
Grande, constructed during the struggle with Barbarossa,
still brings an unfailing supply of water to Milan.' The

' Notices of similar canals to bring water to the cities or to draw
c& the overflow of the rivers are frequent in the annals of Modena,
Reggio, Parma, and other cities.

-J

Photo.']

COMO.

Broletto.

[Alinari.

To face page 227.

THE WARS OP THE CITIES 227

destructive floods caused by the melting of the Alpine
snows forced the Lombards from an early period to try
by means of embankments and canals to gain some con-
trol over the waters. Thus they gained a skill in engineer-
ing far in advance of that possessed by all other nations.

All the cities strove to adorn themselves with public
buildings. Besides the numerous romanesque cathedrals
and churches dating from the second half of the twelfth
and the early years of the thirteenth century, of which
Cremona, Modena, Parma, amongst others, have preserved
such fine examples, the public buildings devoted to
secular uses which were erected at this period bear
witness to the communal spirit. In every city rose the
palace of the Commune, often called in Lombardy
BroleiiOf sometimes as in Mantua and Verona, Palazzo
delta Ragione, to be the home of the public officials and
the meeting-place of the various governing councils.
Beside it rose the great bell tower, the outward sign of
the city's freedom ; projecting over the adjoining Piazza
was a balcony — ^the arengo — ^from which the rulers
addressed the general assembly of the burghers gathered
in the open square below.

Many of these buildings still exist, the glory of the
cities containing them. The Broletto of Como dates
from 121$; that of Brescia was finished in 1227. The
Palazzo della Ragione of Mantua was completed between
1 198 and 1250; the Palazzo del Podest^ at Bologna,
begun in 1201, was not fully finished till 1264. The
Milanese began the Broletto in 1228. Perhaps the most
characteristic of all these buildings is the Palazzo della
Ragione of Verona, dating from 11 85, the glorious
campanile of which bears an inscription saying that it
was the work of the Commune of Verona — "free,
prosperous, and victorious." »

Statistics of Milan in the first half of the thirteenth
century have been preserved to us by Fr^ Bonvesin da
Riva, one of the earliest poets in the vulgar tongue.

' The magnificent hall of the Palazzo della Ragione in Padua, the
largest vaulted hall unsupported by pillars in the world, was finished
in 1219. The actual roof dates, however, from 1306.

228 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

According to him there were thirteen thousand porta
famUiares — ^probably houses — ^forty thousand men within
the city able to b^ arms, a total urban population of
two hundred thousand, four hundred notaries, two
hundred doctors, two hundred juris-consults or judices,
eighty schoolmasters, fifty scriptores Librorum — i^., copiers
and sellers of books— sixty P^/^or or Loggie belonging to
noble families. There were one hundred towers on the
city wall, one hundred and fifty castles in the Contado
with dependent villages. There were six thousand wells,
three thousand mill wheels. Twelve hundred modii of
flour and seventy oxen were consumed daily. Pour
hundred butchers and as many bakers, with one thousand
taverns, catered for this population.

A later writer tells us that in Pavia nearly every house
had its well ; sanitation was attended to, the streets were
paved and drained ; the number of towers was innumer-
able ; there were one hundred and thirty-four churches
(which he names) within the walls. There were many
manufactures and much agriculture. The city — this was
in the days of Pavia's decline— could put in the field two
or three thousand horse and fifteen thousand or more
foot-soldiers.

The wealth needful for the construction of cathedrals
and palaces was largely derived from manufactures and
from foreign commerce. The Lombard cities served as
points of distribution for the commodities brought by
the Venetians from the East. The wool of England and
other northern countries was imported in return, and
woven into the cloth for which Lombardy was famous.
The growth of the woollen industry was in a great
measure due to the religious order of the Umiliate. This
order was at first composed of persons of both sexes
living io the world. At a later period, when its members
led a strictly monastic life, they gained their living by
carrying on various industries, of which cloth-making
became the chief.

Como, where their first regular house was established,
was renowned for its cloth, so were Milan and Parma.
The steel of Milan was soon to gain a worldwide

THE WARS OF THE CITIES 229

fame.' The silk industry, now one of the chief of Lombard
industries, came later. The hilly districts abounded in
wine and oil, agriculture was far in advance of anything
to be found in the west of Europe.

Nor must we omit to mention the activities of the
Lombards as the pioneers of banking. The name
Lombard Street in London is a memory of the time
when all bankers and money-changers were known as
Lombards. The moneylenders of Vicenza were a
powerful factor in the politics of the city about 121 8.
The citizens of Asti began to lend money in foreign
countries in 1226. We are told that when, some years
later, the King of France, irritated by their opposition
to Charles of Anjou, seized all the property in his
dominions belonging to citizens of Asti, their losses
amounted to fifty thousand florins of gold.

The constant wars of this period were not so destruc-
tive as we might imagine at first. True, the open country
sujffered terribly from raids in which crops were destroyed
or carried off, fruit trees cut down, and unprotected
villages burned. But such raids were generally hastily
carried out, and the assailants seldom penetrated close to
the city walls. The actual loss of life both in open
warfare and in internal feuds was small. Non-combat-
ants were almost always respected. When at the capture
of the castle of Fratta in 1224 by Azzo of Este and the
Count of San Bonifazio, the whole of the inmates, men,
women, and children, were put to the sword, the deed
excited feelings of horror even among their partisans.
In sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Ireland it was
thought worthy of special remark when the soldiers of
the state spared the women and children of a captured
castle, and the State Papers contain cold-blood records of
the deliberate slaughter of the unarmed country people of
districts entered by the royal forces.

Even in pitched battles there was little bloodshed.
Quarter was always given; .we hear of thousands of
captives but seldom of great loss of life. The fate of the

■ There were one hundred master smiths making coats of mail,
and thirty FaM sonaclorum according to Fra Bonveshi.

230 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

prisoners, however, was not an enviable one. The Italian
was humane after a fashion of his own ; but his humanity
had definite limits, and he had but little conception of
chivalry towards a fallen foe. To hasten their ransom
the captives were thrust into noisome dungeons, or
exposed in the open air to the inclemency of the
weather. As the century went on and party feuds
assumed a bitterer intensity there was a change for the
worse. We read of prisoners put to death in cold blood
and of massacres in the streets. The Genoese, after
their victory over the Pisans at Melona, passed a law that
the eight thousand prisoners they had taken should be
kept in perpetual captivity, so that, the women of Pisa
being deprived of their husbands and unable to marry
again, the population of the city might dwindle away. Yet
the most shocking deeds of violence took place not in
Lombardy but in the cities of Romagna and Central Italy.

Warfare outside and factions within the walls might
have been expected to stifle manufactures and destroy
trade. Curiously enough, this does not seem to have
been the case. We know that in many cities where
feuds raged violently the mass of the artisan classes
were unaffected by them, and stayed quietly at their
work while the nobles were assailing one another's
palaces. Still the fires which were the frequent accom-
paniment of these riots must often have done great
damage, and one cannot help wondering at the steady
growth in the prosperity of the cities in the midst of
such continual disturbance.

As for foreign trade, it was carried on in spite of the
continual warfare. The merchants fo];med themselves
into companies for purposes of defence ; the Commune
gave armed escort to the convoys, and arranged with its
allied cities for their protection in their territory, and so
the merchant journeyed by devious routes from one
friendly town to another until he finally reached one of
the cities — Verona, Milan, Pavia, or Asti — which had
access, without much risk of interruption, to one of the
Alpine passes which led to the great markets for Italian
wares in France or Germany.

THE WARS OF THE CITIES 231

The turbulent existence, which to us would seem
intolerable, led to the development of all the faculties of
the burghers of the rising Communes. It was but the
expression of the immense energy of the Italian mind,
shaking off the feudal control which still weighed on the
rest of Europe. The very uncertainties of existence
called forth the spirit of enterprise in the townsman.
The rivalry with his neighbours developed an intense
patriotism; his bodily powers were strengthened by
warfare ; he learned to rely upon himself in danger ; his
mind was sharpened by the keen strife of internal politics.
The burgher, called to deliberate on war and peace,
learned to look beyond his own immediate surroundings
to the great questions of European politics ; he acquired
a breadth of view and a vigour of mind unknown among
the urban population of other lands. If the cities could
have laid aside their jealousies and formed a confedera-
tion strong enough to resist all external pressure, a period
of immense material prosperity would no doubt have set
in. But it would have been at the expense of that
intense individuality which the city-state csdls forth more
than any other political organisation.

Amid the strife of the thirteenth century the keen
Italian intellect was being tempered and sharpened } the
individual was able to develop himself to the full extent
of his attainments. Already the germs were being sown
which, at a later period when political liberty was giving
way to servitude, were to blossom forth into the literary
and artistic splendours which give to Italy in the four-
teenth and fifteenth centtiries the leadership in the history
of Eiuropean culture, and which were to culminate in the
glories of the Renaissance.

CHAPTER IX

FREDERICK, THE WONDER OF THE WORLD, AND THE
SECOND LOMBARD LEAGUE

Two years after Otho's death the young Frederick,
having firmly established his power in Germany, re-
crossed the Alps in order to receive the Imperial crown.
During the eight years since 1212 the Imperial authority
had been in abeyance in Italy. In fact, except for the
interval from 12 10 to 121 2, Germany had been distracted
for over twenty years by the strife of rival claimants to
the monarchy, and the Communes ef Italy had been left
practically free from external control. Diu^ing this
period they had increased and solidified their power, had
gained confidence in their own strength and experience
in the conduct of outside affairs.

This is the fact of primary importance which dis-
engages itself from the story of the confused warfare of
which we have treated in the last chapter ; just as the
real significance of the struggle which was shortly to
ensue between the Communes and Frederick is that it
marks the entry into the feudal world of a new and
democratic element, the burghers of the free cities. The
latter had learned their strength, and had begun to take
a part in matters of general European interest. They
had learned to extend their views beyond their own
immediate horizon; we now find them beginning to
play a r6U in European history which had before been
confined to the feudal nobility.

Frederick appeared in Italy as the close friend and
ally of the new Pope Honorius III. The Lombards who
had fallen under the ban of the Church on account of

THE SECOND LOMBABD LEAGUE 233

their support of Otho had by this time made their peace
with the Pope ; consequently no open opposition was made
to the passage of the ally of the latter. But the Milanese
still maintained an attitude of sullen suspicion to the
representative of the House of Hohenstaufen ; and
Frederick, availing himself of the pretext that the Arch-
bishop was absent in the Holy Land, judged it more
prudent not to provoke any expression of open hostility,
and deferred proceeding to Milan to receive the Iron
Crown, until he could be sure of a favourable reception.
Bologna, on the other hand, received him warmly, and
was rewarded by ample confirmation of her privileges.
Other cities obtained similar marks of favour; but
Frederick was soon to find how little the devotion of
the Italians was to be relied on. Faenza received him
splendidly ; but the friendliness of the burghers gave
place to fierce anger as soon as Frederick showed some
marks of favour to the rival Commune Forli.

In Rome he was well received ; the coronation was
carried out with remarkable pomp, and — a most unusual
circumstance in the history of such ceremonies — ^without
any collision between the Roman populace and the
Emperor's German followers.

All the energies of Pope Honorius were directed to
organising a new Crusade, which the depressed state of
the Christians in Syria seemed to render urgently
necessary. Frederick had already, of his own free will,
assumed the Cross at his coronation at Aachen. While
Otho lived it was not to be expected that he should seek
to fulfil his vow, and after the former's death various
disturbances in Germany had made his presence in that
country necessary. Now all reason for delay seemed
removed, and the Pope urged on him the necessity for
a speedy commencement of the expedition.

Frederick solemnly renewed his oath ; a part of his
forces were to start in the following March, he himself
not later than August, 1221. There seems to be no
reason to doubt that the young monarch had been
sincere in his first resolution to take the Cross. His
present attitude seems less certain. He had learned in

234 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

the intervening years the necessity for his presence in
his dominions, if his authority was to be anything more
than nominal. He now saw clearly that a considerable
time would be required to establish his power firmly in
the hereditary territories which he had quitted in 121 2.

Already there were not wanting signs that the unusual
harmony between Pope and Emperor could not last
long. One possible source of quarrel had, indeed, been
removed by Frederick, Not only had he recognised the
Papal claims to the Patrimony of St. Peter,* the Duchy
of Spoleto, the Mark of Ancona, and the Exarchate of
Ravenna ; but he had also confirmed to the Holy See
the heritage of the Countess Matilda, and issued
decrees for the purpose of putting the Papal officials in
possession.

But he had sworn, at the time of his elevation to the
throne of Germany, that his hereditary dominions of
Sicily and Apulia should never be united to the German
Crown. His son Henry was recognised as King of
Sicily, and during his minority the kingdom was to be
administered by a regent. Now Frederick had caused
Henry to be recognised by the princes and prelates as
his successor in Germany ; and kept in his own hands
the administration of his hereditary dominions, with
every intention, as it soon appeared, of re-establishing in
them a strong centralised government, such as had pre-
vailed under some of the Norman sovereigns. This
procedure of Frederick's excited, as was to be expected,
strong protests from Honorius. The chief desire of the
Pope, however, was the speedy undertaking of the
Crusade ; and, making all other considerations sub-
servient to this, he accepted the excuses of Frederick,
and allowed the question of the Sicilian kingdom to fall
into abeyance.

In tracing the career of Frederick II. it would almost
seem that there was something inexplicable in the malig-
nant destiny which drove him into conflict with the
Papacy. The ward of Innocent III. backed up in his
early years by all the power of the Church, full of expres-
* The district from Radicofani to Ceperano.

THE SECX)ND LOMBARD LEAGUE 235

•

sions of gratitude to "his mother, at whose breast he
had sucked, and in whose bosom he had reposed," we
find him gradually estranged from his whileome pro-
tector, and drifting, almost without any fault of his own,
into open hostility. He had promised of his own free
will to undertake the Crusade ; he had invoked against
himself, again of his own free will, the penalty of excom-
munication if he did not start by a fixed date. He failed
to keep his oath, apparently through no fault of his own.
Excommunicated for not going, excommunicated for
going, excommunicated for coming back, he was
solemnly reconciled with the Church ; and once again,
after a brief period of apparent harmony, the two heads
of Christendom drifted apart, one can hardly say how.
Frederick was once again excommunicated, and ended
his life, in spite of unceasing efforts at reconciliation, in
deadly enmity with the Holy See.

Yet perhaps one can find a reason for the apparently
unjustifiable hostility of the Lombards and the Papacy
to Frederick. He was gifted in more than common
measure, so that a contemporary English writer calls him
stupor mundij and a modern historian describes him as
" the most wonderful man in a wonderful age " ; < with a
love of order, a genius for organisation, brave, hard-
working, a lover of art and literature, and, rarest of all
in that age, of science, skilled in all accomplishments, all
his great qualities would seem to have been rendered
useless to him by one all-pervading vice — duplicity. Its
existence in him was rather instinctively felt than proved
by his contemporaries. The Lombards, Pope Honorius,
later Popes — all are singularly unanimous in regarding all
his actions with suspicion, in refusing to put faith in his
most solemn protestations. "No Pope ever let him
alone," says Freeman ; " it was perhaps an unerring
instinct which hindered any Pope from ever letting him
alone." Fra Salimbene declares " He had no faith, was
a trickster and a deceiver." ^

Above all were his contemporaries suspicious of his

' Matthew Paris and Freeman.
' " Fo uomo scaltro e farto" (Balzani, p. 254).

236 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

orthodoxy. In his later years, when he was hopelessly
embroiled with Rome, we find definite charges brought
against him — ^that he denied the immortality of the soul
and the virgin birth of Christ ; that he said that ** Jews,
Christians, and Saracens had been led away by three
impostors — Moses, Jesus, and Mahomet — and that he,
Frederick, would set up a better religion than any of
them." But it would seem that even early in his reign,
in spite of his lavish expressions of devotion to the
Church, in spite of his severe, not to say ferocious laws
against heresy, men doubted if he were really a Christian.
And strangely enough, this doubt finds expression not
merely in Christian writers, but in the pages of the
Mahomedans who deal from their point of view with
the history of his Crusade.

This, then, was the stumbling-block in Frederick's
career. He could never convince men of his sincerity.
All his overtures to his enemies were looked on as but
new proofs of perfidy, all his acts viewed with suspicion,
and he paid the penalty of the distrust which he inspired.
He saw his life-work thwarted ; he was unable to obtain
from his enemies the peace which he desired; and he
died a broken, disappointed man at a comparatively
early age.

Frederick, as we have seen, had bound himself to start
for the East by the summer of 1221. But he soon began
to negotiate with the Pope for an extension of the term.
Difficulties in collecting a sufficient force ; above all,
disorders in Apulia rendered it impossible for him to
fulfil his promise. Then came a revolt of the Saracens
of Sicily, who were still numerous in the mountainous
districts of the interior. Their subjugation was a matter
of considerable difficulty ; and to prevent the recurrence
of such outbreaks Frederick transported the survivors to
the mainland, settling as many as sixty thousand, it is
said, in the city of Lucera, and at a later period a smaller
number in Nocera. Here, cut ofiF from communication
with their co-religionists of Africa, and surrounded by a
hostile population, they became the strongest support of
the royal power.

THE SECOND LOMBARD LEAGUE 237

Five years were consumed in these aiBFairs, and
Frederick was not yet ready to set out for the Holy Land.
At a conference between Pope and Emperor at San
Germano, in the summer of 1225, a new date for the
departure was agreed upon. Frederick was to sail in
August, 1227. Should he for any cause whatsoever not
keep this promise, he was ipso facto to incur the penalty
of excommunication.

Everything seemed at last satisfactorily arranged, and
Frederick was preparing to march into Lombardy at the
head of a force from Apulia in order to meet the German
princes to deliberate with them about the Crusade, and to
provide for the tranquillity of his northern dominions
during his absence, when his plans were dashed to the
ground by the unexpected action of the Lombard
Communes.

During the preceding years matters in Lombardy had
gone on in their accustomed way, without much effective
interference from the Imperial power. As before, Bologna
fought Modena and Imola ; Reggio, aided by Parma and
Cremona, was at constant variance with Mantua, which
was helped by Verona, Ferrara, and Modena. In the
Mark the Estensi and the Count of San Bonifazio still
kept up their feud with Salinguerra and the house of
Romano. In the West, Alessandria and Tortona fell out
with Genoa, and Alba, Vercelli, and Milan intervened on
their side, while Asti and the Count of Savoy helped the
Genoese.

The peace of 1218 had been followed in Milan and
Piacenza by the renewal of discord between nobles and
popolo. The exact course of events in the former city is
obscure. Four parties would seem to have been in exist-
ence— ^the Captains, the Valvassors, the richer burghers,
and the artisans. Apparently the land-owning nobility
who formed the first two classes had not coalesced with
the wealthy merchants to the same degree as in other
cities. Each party formed, so to speak, a state within
the state. Associations, bound together by oaths, were
formed in each party to strengthen their position. Thus
we hear of a "Societi dei Gagliardi," or "dei Forti,"

ass THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

which would seem to have represented the higher
nobility, while the Valvassors were bound together in
a league called the Motta. Then there was the Credenza
di Sant' Ambrogio, started, as we have seen, in 1198,
among the artisans. They are said to have built a palace
with a tower as a place of meeting, set up a regular juris-
diction of their own, and raised funds for common
purposes.

To preserve the unity of the Commune the twelve
elected consuls were replaced by a foreign Podestk ; but,
since it often happened that the various factions could
not agree in their choice, we meet with two or even more
rival Podest^, each supported by his party. Thus in 12 13
there were four, in 1222 there were two. Or, again, the
partisans of the old consular rigitne would get the upper
hand, and the consuls would again appear at the head of
the government. In 1221 the dissensions broke out into
actual civil war. Captains and Valvassors, as in the days
of Aribert, left the city, and called to their help the forces
of Cremona, Lodi, and Mantua. It was not until four
years later that peace was made by the intervention of
the Pope, on the basis of a division of offices between
the nobles and the popolo, under which name were in-
cluded the richer burghers and the Credenza of Sant'
Ambrogio. One condition throws a curious light on
the age. The lower orders now for the first time
obtained access to the higher dignities of the Church.
Up to this period the nobles had succeeded in keeping
these to themselves, and even now they managed to
secure that the Archbishop should always be chosen
from the ranks of the nobility.

The struggle in Piacenza lasted longer, and had
important results on the external policy of the city.
Here the milites — ue., the wealthier classes — ^when
opposed by the popolo retired to the hilly country dis-
tricts, and called to their help the semi-independent
feudality of the Apennines. From 1219 to 1226 there
were four separate quarrels, followed by temporary re-
conciliations. Peace then lasted for five years, when
the struggle broke out more violently than ever. The

THE SECOND LOMBARD LEAGUE 230

popular party, unable alone to cope with the nobles,
turned to the old enemies of the Commune. They took
a Podesta from Parma, and got military aid from
Cremona. Thus they threw themselves into the hands
of the Imperial or Ghibelline party, as we may now
fairly call it, of which Cremona and Parma were the
chief bulwarks in Lombardy, and which was now at
open variance with the majority of the Lombards headed
by Milan. Temporary reconciliations, followed by new
outbreaks, fill up the period till 1236, the year when
Frederick was preparing once for all to chastise the
Milanese and their allies. Papal legates brought back
the nobles to the city after an absence of nearly a year.
They broke the peace almost as soon as they were re-
admitted, drove out the popular leaders favourable to the
Emperor, and ranged Piacenza once more on the side of
Milan.

The affairs of Piacenza have brought us far past the
year 1226, to which we must return. When in that year
Frederick summoned the German princes to meet him at
Cremona at Easter, 1226, and made preparations to lead
thither a force from Apulia, the Milanese and their allies
took alarm. They had long been watching his proceed-
ings in his southern territories, where, by every means in
his power, he had been strengthening the royal authority,
and had shown himself in a special manner jealous of
any show of independence in the cities. Now fearing,
or pretending to fear, that the Imperial visit to Lombardy
was meant to bring about the overthrow of their liberties,
fifteen cities sent their deputies to a conference near
Mantua, at which the Lombard League was solemnly
revived. This new confederacy was formed of Alessan-
dria and Turin — practically the first appearance of this
city as a free commune — Milan with her constant allies
Brescia and Piacenza, the smaller communities of Lodi
and Vercelli, the four cities of the Veronese Mark — Ber-
gamo, Mantua, Bologna, and her ally Faenza. They
were soon joined by Crema and Ferrara, and by the
Marquis of Montferrat, the Count of Biandrate, and
other feudal lords.

240 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

This second Lombard League di£Fers very much from
the first. In the days of Barbarossa the Communes had
combined under the pressure of intolerable oppression to
make a last stand for their liberties. Now their con-
federacy took on a markedly aggressive character. They
forbade all communication with the Emperor, or with
the cities which remained in his obedience, assembled
an army to watch his advance into Lombardy, and
refused him entry to the cities by which he passed.
Most hostile step of all, they blocked the defiles leading
from Trent to Verona, and refused a passage to the
Emperor's son Henry and the other German prince^
who had reached Trent on their journey to Cremona.

An attempt of the burghers of this last city to free the
defiles by an attack from the rear failed, and the Germans,
after six weeks' delay in Trent, were forced to return home.

All these proceedings were the more unjustifiable, as
Frederick had not so far made the slightest attempt to
violate the conditions of the Peace of Constance. To
his reproaches, joined to those of the Pope, the Lombards
could oppose no solid arguments ; they took refuge in
vague charges, which plainly show that Frederick had
given them no definite ground of complaint, and that
their proceedings were based on mere general suspicion
of his designs. The result was that a severe blow was
struck at the prospects of the Crusade, and Frederick had
for the moment no means of chastising the insolence of
the Lombards.

The projected Diet at Cremona thus practically failed.
A few of the German princes had penetrated into Italy by
way of Carinthia, and the cities hostile to Milan — Parma,
Modena, Reggio, Asti, Pavia, and Como — ^sent their depu-
ties. The Marquis of Este and some other nobles
attended, so did deputies from Genoa, Lucca, and Pisa.
Finding the rest of the Lombards obstinate, Frederick
put them to the ban of the Empire as rebels, and the
Papal legate pronounced against them the sentence of
excommunication.

The Emperor was unwilling, or unable, to proceed to
open hostilities, and sought the intervention of the Pope.

THE SECX)ND LOMBARD LEAGUE 241

The Lombards also consented to accept his arbitration.
His decision, given early in 1127, cannot but excite our
surprise. All offences on both sides were to be forgiven
and forgotten, and the Communes were to be received
once more into the Imperial favour, while as their only
punishment the Lombards were to maintain four hundred
knights for the Crusade for two years. This sentence
cannot have failed to anger the Emperor, who saw open
rebellion and insult to his person thus lightly condoned.
He was, however, desirous of peace in Italy, and accepted
the award. The Lombards, on the other hand, neither
took any measures to supply the knights, nor refrained
from hostilities against the cities of the Imperial party.

Before the peace had been ratified Pope Honorius
died and was succeeded by a nephew of Innocent III.,
who took the name of Gregory IX. He had much of
the fiery and unbending nature of his uncle, and soon
showed both Frederick and the Lombards that they had
to do with a very different personality from that of the
mild Honorius.

The time drew on for the Emperor to start for Palestine.
A considerable army and fleet was gathered near Brindisi.
All was ready for the departure when a pestilence, brought
on by the summer heat, broke out among the soldiers
from more northern climates. In spite of this Frederick
set sail, but fell ill himself, so that after three days at sea
he put back, and retired to the neighbourhood of Naples
to effect a cure. On this news the army, which had been
collected with such difficulty, dispersed.

As soon as news of this reached Gregory, he refused to
see in Frederick's illness anything more than a pretext to
escape from his engagements, and without delay, in con-
formity with the treaty of San Germano, he excommuni-
cated the Emperor.

The Pope to justify his action issued letters denouncing
the Emperor's conduct; the latter, in return, did not
refrain from vehement reproaches against the Pope him-
self and the general action of the Papacy. The breach
between the two heads of Christendom became daily
wider. In order to prove his sincerity to the world,

242 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

Frederick redoubled his e£Forts for the Crusade, and in
the following August he at length set out from Italy, and
landed without mishap in Palestine.

Far from appeasing the Pope, Frederick's attitude only
brought new excommunications on his head. In Sjrria
he obtained by diplomacy more than former Crusaders
had been able to gain by arms. Jerusalem, Bethlehem,
and other places were ceded to him by the Sultan.
But on entering the Holy City, he found that the
Patriarch had laid the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
under an interdict, and had once more repeated the
excommunication.

In the meantime, in Italy, the Pope had declared the
crown of Naples vacant, and had got together an army
which had already overrun a great part of the country.
Gregory appealed to the Lombards for aid in this enter-
prise, and received some troops from Milan and Piacenza.
The Lombards, as a whole, were too much occupied with
their own immediate a£Fairs to send any substantial help
to the pontiff.

The Bolognese had determined on a great effort to
crush Modena, which had ranged itself on the Imperial
side. In 1228 a great army took the field. Besides the
forces of Bologna, contingents came from nine cities of
Romagna, from Ferrara, even from Florence. Milan,
Piacenza, and Brescia sent a thousand knights ; even
Reggio, which bad not joined the League, is said to have
sent troops to fight her old antagonist. The combined
army entered the territory of Modena, wasted it far and
wide, and laid siege to the castle of Basano. The Moden-
ese army advanced to the relief. With it were arrayed
the forces of Parma and Cremona, the latter, we are told,
numbering four thousand foot and one thousand knights.
By skilful movements they relieved Bazano, and then,
boldly advancing into theContado of Bologna, compelled
the hostile army to retire and defend that city. The
armies joined in battle at Santa Maria in Strada, and
after a fight, which lasted till " after the going down of
the great evening star," the confederate host was scattered
to the winds.

A HOHENSTANFEN KnIGHT.

{From an Almanac of the 12th Century.)

To /ace page 242.

Sbal of Frederick II. as Kino of Jbrusalbm.

•^v

THE SECOND LOMBARD LEAGUE 243

Next year the Bolognese repeated the invasion, ranging
the contingents of fourteen other Communes under their
banner. Once more the burghers of Modena, Parma,
and Cremona sallied forth against them. Another battle,
bloody and long contested, took place. Once more
fortune smiled on the Imperialist cities. The Bolognese
were driven in headlong flight, their Carroccio was taken,
their battering train of mangonels carried in triumph
to Parma, and placed as a monument of victory in the
cathedral of that city. These disasters forced Bologna
to consent to a truce for eight years.

They also brought about a revolution in the city itself.
The trades guilds, exasperated by the ill success of the cam-
paign, which they attributed to the incompetence of the
ruling aristocracy, demanded a share in the government.
This they obtained after the usual tumultuous street fight-
ing. A conflict with the Bishop over the jurisdiction
in the Church lands followed soon on this. It brought
down on the city a Papal interdict, which seems to have
had hardly any effect on the Bolognese, so far had the
spirit of independence, even in religious matters, taken
root in the Communes.'

In the meantime a general war had been raging in
Piedmont, interrupted by peaces, or rather truces,
broken almost as soon as made. Genoa, Asti, the Mar-
quis of Montferrat, and the Count of Savoy were leagued
against Alessandria, Alba, Tortona, and Vercelli. Asti
met with more than one disaster in this contest, a
thousand of her citizens being carried off to the dun-
geons of Alessandria, from which few of them returned.
The Milanese led an army, collected from the members
of the League, to the aid of Alessandria. The chronicler
of Asti relates that the lands of that city were laid waste
by no less than twenty-three allied cities. Montferrat
was also devastated ; but on the whole the confederates
accomplished little. They penetrated, however, far up

' Henceforth the popolo at Bologna was organised under the
Anziani, or heads of the guilds. There were also two councils of
the popolo, corresponding to the Consiglio di Credenza and the
Consiglio Generate of the Commune.

244 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

the valley of the Stura where, in order to hold the
feudal lords of this region in check, a town was founded
on a wedge-shaped piece of land — from which came
its name Cuneo— into which the inhabitants of the
surrounding villages were gathered.

In the meantime Frederick had returned to Southern
Italy. Landing in the summer of 1229, he soon had
driven the Papal troops from the greater part of his
dominions. He showed himself desirous of peace ; the
Pope, too, finding that the Lombards could not, or would
not, send any considerable forces to his help, was inclined
to an accommodation. All was soon satisfactorily arranged;
and in the summer of 1230 a treaty, signed at San Ger-
mane, put an end to the contest between Pope and
Emperor. A general amnesty was proclaimed, the feuds
in Lombardy were for the moment stilled, and a friendly
meeting of Gregory and Frederick at Anagni set the seal
to their reconciliation.

The Lombards, as we have said, had given no substan-
tial help to the Pope. But Frederick's return had caused
them, in December, 1229, to renew the League, and they
still maintained a defiant attitude towards him. To
restore his influence in Lombardy was now the Emperor's
chief aim. For this purpose he summoned a Diet, to be
held at Ravenna late in the year 1231, at which all the
Communes were to appear, as well as the German princes
and the young King Henry.

The Pope wrote to exhort the Lombards to obedience.
But once more they declared that they could not trust
Frederick, got together an army, and again blocked the
passes. The assembly therefore came to nothing; and
the offending Communes were once more put to the ban
of the Empire. In order to confer with his German
subjects Frederick had to take ship to Friuli, a pretty
clear proof that he had not come to Ravenna with any
force sufficient to justify the suspicions of the Lombards.
Whilst in this territory he received overtures which were
destined to bring about a complete change in his position
in Lombardy. To explain this clearly it will be necessary
to retrace our steps a little, and to take up at some length
the course of affairs in the Mark.

THE SECOND LOMBARD LEAGUE 245

We have already seen how the death of Azzo VI. of
Este and of the Count of San Bonifazio had given the
preponderance in the Mark to their adversaries. Salin-
guerra had returned to Perrara, where the young Aldro-
vandino of Este was forced to share the control of the
city with him. The Montecchi had returned to Verona, «
but, on the other hand, Ezzelino's adversaries had been
readmitted to Vicenza. This bringing back of the exiles
seems to have been the work of Padua, which, free from
internal dissensions and under a more democratic govern-
ment than the other Communes, aspired to the leadership
of the Mark.

Treviso was also free from internal strife. She was
friendly to Ezzelino, and devoted herself to an aggressive
policy against the Patriarch of Aquileia and the Bishop
of Feltre and Belluno, which brought her more than
once into collision with Padua, where these prelates
had obtained burgher rights as a protection against
attack.

Vicenza and Verona were torn by factions among
the nobles, complicated in the former city by the
emergence of a democratic party. The restored exiles
soon grew strong in Vicenza, and expelled Ezzelino
and his party in 12 14. These remained in exile for
four years, when Padua brought about their recall.
They were expelled again almost immediately, and
sought to return by force of arms. Under the leadership
of Ezzelino's son, Ezzelino III., they gained a brilliant
victory at Bressanvido.

This is the first notable exploit in which the future
tyrant of the Mark figures. Born in 1194, he had early
given evidence of his capacity. A daring soldier, he was
no less skilled in the arts necessary for the Italian
party leader. Constant in adversity, prudent in success,
able to dissemble his feelings, but incapable of forgetting
a wrong, he had as yet given no sign of the pitiless
nature which in later times was to turn him into a
monster and to attach to his name undying associations
of horror.

Padua again brought about a peace. The exiles

246 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

returned to Vicenza, and Ezzelino sold to that city the
important castle of Marostica for the immense sum of
forty thousand pounds.

In the meantime peace had reigned in Verona, which
was strengthened by the marriage of the young Ezzelino
to the sister of Count Richard of San Bonifazio, who
at the same time married Ezzelino's sister the famous
Cunizza. Soon after tliis Ezzelino II. retired to a
monastery, without, however, withdrawing from all
intervention in politics.

This reconciliation of the two factions, which coincided
with the general pacification which followed on the death
of Otho, was first broken in Ferrara. The partisans of
Azzo VII. of Este, who had succeeded his brother Aldro-
vandino, attacked Salinguerra, burned his palace, and
drove him out. After a few days peace was made;
Salinguerra returned, and next year his adversaries were
expelled in their turn.

In the meantime the people of Vicenza had formed
an association to break the power of the ruling aristo-
cracy. The leader of the movement was a Brescian,
of the noble house of the Martinenghi; and his native
city sent him a detachment of two hundred horse to
help him to overawe the Vicentine nobles. Ezzelino
had begged the Count of San Bonifazio to prevent these
troops reaching Vicenza ; he refused, and the old feud
broke out again. The first consequence was the expulsion
from Verona of Ezzelino's faction the Montecchi.

San Bonifazio, helped by Mantua and Padua, now
joined Azzo in an attack on Salinguerra. The latter,
by a piece of treachery, made the Count a prisoner ; and
the contest was further embittered when at the capture
of Pratta Azzo's forces massacred all the inhabitants,
sparing neither age nor sex. The Mark was once more
thrown into confusion by the contending factions.

At this time a new party arose in Verona called the
" Quattroventi," or "Twenty-Four."' They combined
with the Montecchi, and while the Count was still a

' Some writers, notably Gittermann, take the Twenty-Four to have
been a popular association. More probably they were nobles.

Marostica.

\ce page 246-

THE SECOND LOMBARD LEAGUE 247

prisoner, restored them to the city. As usual, the
returned exiles did not long keep the peace. At Christ-
mastime, 1225, the allies attacked the Count's party,
and after several days' street fighting gained control of
the city. Ezzelino seems to have taken no part in this
rising ; but a treacherous attack on him by the Count,
who had been freed from his captivity in Ferrara, led
him once more to appear as the leader of the Montecchi.
The Count and his chief partisans were seized, and
Ezzelino became completely master of the city.

Sismondi, Leo, and Italian writers following them
have described Ezzelino the Monk and his more famous
son as the leaders of the Ghibelline or Imperial party
in the Mark. According to them, the opposite faction,
that of Este and San Bonifazio, represented the Guelf
cause. They farther assert that the former stood at
the head of the feudal aristocracy, while the latter led
the more democratic burgher party.

An examination of the facts, however, clearly shows
that there is no ground whatsoever for these assertions.
Quite the contrary. The House of Romano had, so
far, always been in opposition to the Hohenstaufen
Emperors. Ezzelino the Stammerer had been one of the
Rectors of the first Lombard League ; a special clause
pardoning him was considered necessary by the framers
of the Peace of Constance. Ezzelino the Monk and his
supporter Salinguerra had been the allies of Milan in
opposing Frederick II. On the other hand, Azzo VI.
of Este had been the ally of Parma and Cremona,
with which latter city he had concluded an alliance
on behalf of Ferrara as early as 1208 ; and it was
he who had organised the League of 12 12 between
Ferrara, Mantua, Verona, and Cremona in opposition to
Frederick's adversary Otho.

Salinguerra had made his peace with Frederick's
patron. Innocent III., by 1215, but Ezzelino was not
reconciled to the Church till 1220, and no doubt then
made a formal submission to Frederick. Yet neither
of them seems to have taken any steps towards a full
reconciliation with the young Emperor. Azzo III. of

248 THE LOMBARD COIOCUNES

E^ste and the young Count of San Bonifazio, on the
other hand, appeared at court in 1220, when both
received signal marks of the Imperial favour. The
former was freed, by Imperial decree, from the conditions
imposed on his brother by Padua in 1213. The latter
received a most ample charter confirming him in all
his rights, especially in the countship of Verona, and
the jurisdiction over certain classes of the citizens,
notably the bakers and butchers, which he claimed in
virtue of that office.

Moreover, in 1226, Verona, which, as we shall see,
was then entirely in the hands of Ezzelino and the
Montecchi, joined the Lombard League, and must have
borne the chief part in blocking the defiles of the
Adige. Ferrara, too, joined the League; and since
1225 Salinguerra's authority had been solidly established
in that city."

As to their respective positions with regard to the
aristocratic and popular parties, the Estensi stood at
the head of the feudal nobility in the Mark, and had
still independent rule in the district between Adige and
Po. The Count of San Bonifazio was not only the
greatest feudal noble in the diocese of Verona, but
also claimed to be Count of the city, and still actually
possessed some of the rights attacking to tliat dignity,
a case probably unique at this period in Lombardy. He
held the same position towards Verona as the Counts
of Lomello and Biandrate, respectively, had held, more
than a generation previously, towards Pavia and Novara«

The Montecchi, Ezzelino's party in Verona, though
themselves feudal nobles, seem to have been allied
with the merchants and rich burghers, if not with the
lower orders in general.^ Salinguerra, we are expressly
told, was supported by the democratic party in Ferrara.
In Vicenza the House of Romano first appears as
supporting the party of the Vivarii against the Count

' Azzo of Este attended the Diet at Cremona in 1226. He was,
therefore, then hostile to the League.

' For when the Montecchi were expelled in 1206 their houses
and those of the merchants were alike destroyed.

THE SECOND LOMBARD LEAGUE 249

of Vicenza, then on the side of the Count and then
once more on the side of the Vivarii. It seems more
probable that here the Count's party would represent
the country nobles. The democratic movement in
Vicenza between 1218 and 1226 seems, however, to
have been more obnoxious to the Vivarii than to
their opponents. In this city, then, we may allow that
Ezzelino III. and his brother Alberic really did appear
as the adversaries of the popular party.

It is true that, by the change of policy of which we
shall soon have to speak, Ezzelino ranged himself finally
on the Imperial side, and that, as the chief upholder of
Frederick's cause in the Mark, his name was identified
for more than twenty years with the party which adopted
the name of Ghibelline. He drew Salinguerra after him,
and his hereditary enemies, Este and San Bonifazio, at
once embraced the party of the cities leagued against
Frederick. The Pope quarrelled with Frederick, so that
once more Pope and Lombards were allied against the
Emperor, and the House of Este henceforward leads the
Papal or Guelfic party in the Mark. Este and Romano
being thus the two protagonists in the struggle in this
part of Italy, later historians have tried to work their
early private quarrels into some relation with the parts
they afterwards played, and into connection with the
greater struggle between the Papacy and the Empire
and the lesser one between aristocracy and democracy in
the Communes. The Ezzelini appear as Ghibellines and
aristocrats, the Estensi as Guelfs. But, even granting
that the names Ghibelline and Guelf had come into use
at all in the days of Ezzelino the Monk, nothing can be
clearer than that, for the first quarter of the thirteenth
century, it is the Ezzelini who are the opponents, the
Estensi who are the supporters of the House of
Hohenstaufen.

The beginning of the year 1226 saw Ezzelino and his
faction masters of Verona. Then came the renewal of
the Lombard League, to which confederacy Verona
adhered in April. We cannot doubt that the city took
the chief part in closing the defiles of the Adige against

250 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

the Germans during ^the summer ; and for its contumacy
it was excommunicated and put to the ban of the Empire
along with its allies.

The negotiations which followed between the Emperor
and the Lombards by removing the danger of an attack
from Germany relaxed the discipline which had bound
the confederates together. The popular party in Vicenza
had for some years been struggling against the nobles.
They obtained assistance from Padua, and to secure their
hold on the city set burghers of that city to garrison the
towers of the Vivarii and other partisans of the House of
Romano. These sought help from Ezzelino. On an
appointed day they rushed to arms, and attacked their
own houses. Ezzelino hurried with his forces from
Verona, the towers were captured, and the nobles were
once more masters of Vicenza. Alberic of Romano was
installed as Podest^; and the lords of Romano once
more acquired a commanding position in the Mark.

In the meantime the CQfunt of San Bonifazio had
escaped from captivity. The League desired above all
things to maintain union in the Mark ; and, feeling sure
of Ezzelino, they wished to win the Count over to their
party, as they had gained the lords of Biandrate and
Montferrat. Besides, Mantua was a prominent member
of the League, and the Count enjoyed in a special
degree the favour of the burghers of that city.

The League, therefore, opened negotiations for the
return of the Count and his supporters to Verona. They
succeeded. Ezzelino laid down the Podest^hip, and
withdrew ; all existing parties in the city were dissolved,
and every Veronese was to swear never to revive them.
Strange to say this oath was kept for nearly three years.

Ezzelino, having yielded to the wishes of the League
as regards Verona, sought an outlet for his restless energy
in an attack on the Camposampieri. They were citizens
of Padua, which at once embraced their cause. The
burghers, nobles, and commons alike flocked to the
general assembly ; many noble ladies joined the throng ;
the Carroccio was drawn into the Piazza amid scenes of
wild enthusiasm ; and a great force advanced on Bassano.

THE SECOND LOMBARD LEAGUE 251

Yielding to the advice of his father, who pointed out to
him that at present he was no match for the mighty
Padua, but that by biding his time he might hope to see
not only that city but all the Mark at his mercy, Ezzelino
bent before the storm, and swore to give back to the
Camposampieri the captured castle of Fonte. " I myself
saw him," says Rolandino, ''riding on a tall war-horse
through the waves of the Brenta ; but the Podesti who
was awaiting him on the bank did not allow him to come
to the shore." Sitting his horse in the river he took
the oath.

While swearing to the peace, Ezzelino thought only of
vengeance. He had detected many burghers of Treviso
among the ranks of the Paduans, and vowed to make
that city smart as a whole for the treachery, as he
regarded it, of individuals. With this end in view,
he craftily urged Treviso to attack the Bishop of Feltre
and Belluno. The Trevisans seized these towns ; while
Ezzelino, falling on the lords of Camino, deprived them
of most of their castles. The aggrieved parties were
burghers of Padua; and that city once more took the
field against Treviso and her dangerous ally. Ezzelino
had stirred up a greater storm than he had foreseen.
The Paduans wasted the lands of Treviso far and wide,
and passed a decree that the devastation was to be
repeated twice in each year. In this way Ezzelino had
brought down punishment on Treviso. But he was him-
self involved in the calamities of that city. His lands
were ravaged and his castles destroyed. Treviso was
forced to sue for peace ; Ezzelino's influence in the city
was seriously impaired. The League, and the Paduans
in particular, began to regard him as a dangerous fire-
brand whose influence in the Mark seemed fatal to any
hope of lasting peace.

More misfortunes followed for the House of Romano.
Alberic was driven from Vicenza in 1229 by the inter-
vention of Padua and Verona ; and following on this
came a revolt of the serfs on his domains. They seized
Bassano, which town, the main seat of the power of the
Romanos^ was only recovered by the most strenuous

252 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

exertions of the two brothers. In the space of barely
three years the House of Romano had fallen from the
arbiters of the Mark to the position of country nobles
threatened on all sides by hostile Communes.

The most sudden changes of fortune are characteristic
of Italian history. Before a year had passed Ezzelino
was once more ruler of Verona. After his departure
from that city in 1227 a new personage appears on the
scene, a certain Julian, the head of an association of
which we know nothing except that it obtained complete
control of the government.

It would seem that, during the previous years of strife,
the public offices had been monopolised by the nobles of
whatever faction had been uppermost for the moment.
The '' Communanza," or society of which Julian was
Rector or head, now brought it about that in future a list
should be made of the milites or nobles, and of all those
who had horses and military equipment and property to
the extent of 1,000 lire, and that the public offices should
be filled from those whose name was on the list, until all
had served in turn. Thus the constitution was placed on
a more democratic basis, although the mass of the people
were still shut out from a share in the government

Julian was hostile to the Romanos, and, as we have
seen, drove Alberic from Vicenza. After a period of
nearly three years, during which Verona had enjoyed
internal peace, he vanishes from the scene as suddenly
as he had appeared. The Count of San Bonifazio had
also suffered at his hands, and now once more made
a bid for supremacy. A first outbreak, at Easter, 1230,
was quieted by the banishment of the chiefs both of the
Montecchi and the Count's party. They soon returned.
In July a new tumult took place, and iht Count seized
the PsJace of the Commune. His opponents flew to
arms ; numbers seem to have been on their side ; the
Palace was stormed ; and the Count with many of his
adherents fell once more into the hands of his enemies.
Salinguerra became Podesta; Ezzelino returned to
Verona, and became practically master of the city.

The neighbouring Communes — Padua, Mantua, and

THE SECOND LOMBARD LEAGUE 263

Vicenza — ^friendly to the Count, or hostile to Ezzelino —
flew to arms in support of the Count's party, most of
whom had escaped and fortified themselves in the castle
of San Bonifazio. They fell on the Veronese territory
from all sides, and wasted it horribly. Ezzelino replied
by announcing his intention of starving the Count to
death. Some of the captives, it is said, actually perished
from hunger; the Count himself, if we are to believe
Gherardo Maurisio, owed his life to the old Ezzelino the
Monk, who left his cloister in order to persuade his son
to clemency, and, finding his efforts fruitless, found
means to supply his former enemy with food.

The interposition of the League, joined to a new inroad
from Padua and Mantua, at length secured the liberation
of the Count, after, as it would seem, a year's captivity.
Now that Frederick was once more turning his attention
to Lombardy, and had summoned the Germans to meet
him at Ravenna, the League was more than ever inte-
rested in preserving tranquillity in the Mark. With this
end in view, a separate league was organised, comprising
Padua, Brescia,*Mantua, Vicenza, and Ferrara. Its special
mission was to maintain peace in Verona, which city was
invited also to adhere to it. Ezzelino and Alberic were
also to be admitted to this league, apparently as feudal
lords of Bassano and Romano.

Once more the contending factions went through the
form of a reconciliation. The Count was to be kept in
the custody of the League until the castle of San Boni-
fazio was surrendered to the Commune of Verona ; but,
on the other hand, Ezzelino was to leave the city.

The Count was handed over to the Lombards, swore
to the League and was liberated ; but his castle was not
given up to Verona. In the meantime Ezzelino the Monk
had fallen under the suspicion of heresy, and the
Pope had incited the Paduans to attack the possessions
of his sons in order to get possession of his person. The
younger Ezzelino now asked for admission to the separate
League to protect himself. from this attack. But the
deputies of certain cities protested against this. Only
the threat of Ezzelino's envoy, the historian Maurisio,

254 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

that farther opposition would force his master to go over
to the side of the Emperor, and so admit the Germans
by the Val Sugana into Bassano and the lands of Vicenza
and Treviso, caused them to accede to his request

But this conciliatory step came too late. The League
had twice forced him to retire from Verona ; they had
received his enemy the Count into their association.
Elzzelino was at last convinced that the confederate
cities would never allow him to hold the mastery over
Verona for which he had been striving. He therefore
turned to Frederick. He is said to have opened nego-
tiations with the Emperor during the latter^s stay at
Ravenna. In the spring of 1232 Frederick was in
Friuli, and here the definite compact was made. Ezze-
lino abandoned his former allies, and engaged himself
to hold Verona for the Emperor, who, on his side, pro-
mised to send troops to protect the city from the
Lombards. The Milanese Podesta of Verona, dis-
trusting the attitude of Ezzelino's partisans, had ordered
them to renew the oath to the League. Ezzelino has-
tened back to the city, won over the Montecchi and their
following to his change of side, stormed the Palace of
the Commune, and once more made himself master
of Verona. An Imperial officer was received within
the walls, and he was followed by a force of knights
and Saracen bowmen sufficient to repel any sudden
attack from the League. Thus the position of affairs in
the Mark was changed with startling rapidity, and the
door into Lombardy opened for the German armies.

The defection of Verona and Ezzelino from the League
materially strengthened Frederick's position. Troubles
in the south, however, claimed his immediate attention,
and for the present he took no active measures against
the Lombards. In the meantime Mantua and Padua fell
on Verona and ravaged its territory. The Marquis of
Este, too, arrayed himself on the side of the League.
Treviso, on the other hand, without seceding from the
League, supported Ezzelino. In the warfare which fol-
lowed, while the Mantuans wasted the lands of Verona,
the Paduans advanced against the territcHies of Ezzelino

THE SECOND LOMBARD LEAGUE 255

and Alberic, and inflicted a pretty severe defeat on
Treviso.

The Pope now intervened in the cause of peace. Two
Cardinals appeared at Padua, and the Lombards agreed
to submit their differences with Frederick to the Papal
decision. The Legates then proceeded to Verona, and
in Ezzelino's absence restored the Count's party. Ezze-
lino hastened back and expelled them again, whereupon
he was excommunicated. More attacks on Verona fol-
lowed, until E2zelino, with the help of Treviso and the
nobles of Vicenza, gained some decided successes over
his enemies.

The Papal decision was made known in June, 1233.
It was practically identical with the one formerly given
by Pope Honorius, except that the Lombards were now
to furnish five hundred knights for the Holy Land.
Frederick was naturally indignant at this verdict, which
seems dictated not by the merits of the case, but by a
desire on the Pope's part to win support in Lombardy
in the case of another breach between Papacy and
Empire. If Frederick should crush the League he
would be master of Italy to a degree attained to by
none of his predecessors since the days of the Henrys,
and the Papacy would be entirely at his mercy. We see
here the beginnings of that policy which led the Popes
to combat in every way the setting up in Italy of any-
thing like a strong central power; if we should not
rather call it the revival of the policy which had led
former pontiffs to call in the Franks against the Lom-
bards and to lend support to the Norman rulers of the
south.

Loud though Frederick's complaints were he accepted
the verdict Not so the Lombards, who sought by pro-
crastination to evade even the small concessions which
they were ordered to make. To recover Verona was to
them of prime importance. The means they adopted
to this end led to one of the most curious episodes in
the varied history of the Mark.

The newly founded Dominican and Franciscan orders
had devoted themselves to the healing of the feuds which

266 THE LOMBABD COMMUNES

vexed the Communes. The Italians, always susceptible
to eloquence, were moved by their preaching to recon-
ciliations, usually, we must confess, as short-lived as they
were sudden. Now a Dominican, Fra Giovanni, from
Schio, near Vicenza, came forward to pacify the Mark.
He had brought about a settlement of the dispute
between the Commune and Bishop of Bologna, and
was looked upon as a saint in that city, where many
tales were told of the wonders he had worked. The
Paduans went to welcome him at Monselice, placed
him on the Carroccio and brought him in triumph to
the city, where he healed many private feuds. Then
he reconciled Treviso with the lords of Camino and
her other enemies. In Vicenza he was given the lord-
ship of the city, and after reforming the government
with arbitrary power, summoned a general assembly
to meet him at Paquara, near Verona, in August, 1233,
for the purpose of putting an end to all public and
private enmities, and especially to regulate the affairs
of Verona.

An attack in June by an army supplied by Milan,
Brescia, Mantua, Bologna, and Faenza had made that
city disposed to treat. Giovanni was welcomed as a
heaven-sent messenger of peace, brought back the Count
and his followers, freed Ezzelino from the excommunica-
tion, and was given the custody of the castles of the
contending factions. But his success began to turn his
head. His proceedings in Vicenza had already roused
opposition ; he now caused himself to be recognised as
ruler of Verona, and, mounting the Carroccio of the city
in the market-place, assumed the titles of Duke and
Podesta of Verona. Like most of the cities of Lom-
bardy at this period, Verona was full of heretics, and
Fra Giovanni inaugurated his rule by burning on the
charge of heresy sixty men and women of the principal
families in the Piazza deir Erbe.

The day for the great assembly drew near. An
immense multitude gathered on the plain of Paquara,
on the banks of the Adige, below Verona. There were
present the Patriarch of Aquileia, nine Bishops; the

THE SECOND LOMBARD LEAGUE 257

lords of Este, of Romano, and other nobles ; the
Carroccios of Verona, Mantua, Brescia, Padua, Vicenza,
surrounded by the entire population of those cities ;
countless numbers from Venice, Ferrara, Treviso,
Bologna, and even from distant Modena, Reggio, and
Parma ranged round their standards. A contemporary
writer estimates at four hundred thousand the numbers
present ; another declares that not until all mankind are
assembled in the Valley of Jehoshaphat will such a
multitude ever be gathered together again.

To this great host Fri Giovanni preached from the
text, '* My peace I leave you. My peace I give you," and
his voice, we are told, was distinctly heard even to the
farthest limits of the assembly. A bodyguard of armed
Bolognese surrounded him to keep off the pressure of
the crowd. The efiFect of his words was immense. The
whole assembly was filled with compunction for their
past offences, and displayed their sorrow by sobs and
cries of penitence. Old enemies were reconciled, and
falling on each other's necks demanded pardon for the
past ; the feuds of generations seemed to have vanished
before the burning words of the monk. The more
weighty matters in dispute were submitted to the
arbitration of Fra Giovanni. Measiu-es were taken to
remedy the political disorders of the Mark. Ezzelino
was reconciled with Padua, and a marriage was arranged
between Alberic's daughter and the son of the Marquis
of Este.

This peace, so acclaimed by all, lasted just five days.
The Paduans saw with dislike the position which Fra
Giovanni had acquired in Vicenza, and now that the first
burst of enthusiasm had cooled the former political
leaders of that city were beginning to long once more
for the power they had laid aside. A riot broke out,
instigated by Padua. Fri Giovanni hurried to Vicenza,
and being favoured by a large body of the citizens began
to attack the towers of the authors of the disturbance.
He had already got possession of a large part of the city
when the arrival of a force from Padua changed the day*
His partisans were driven out and he himself taken

258 THB LOMBARD COMMUNES

prisoner. The former constitution of the city was
restored, and parties stood once more as they had
been before the monk's intervention.

As soon as news reached Verona of Frk Giovanni's ill
fortune the crafty Ezzelino rushed to arms, and asserting
that the Count's faction were privy to the intrigue of
Padua in Vicenza, he stirred up the mob against them
and cast the chief among them into prison. Then he
hastened to Vicenza to release the monk. This he
e£Fected by exchanging for him those whom he had
arrested in Verona. Ezzelino now appeared as the
champion of Fra Giovanni, who, on his side, by his
failure at Vicenza, was exposed to the derision of
all, and they were many, who were opposed to his
mission of pacification. Great as were his gifts as a
preacher, his ambition and his greed for worldly titles
caused the sceptical among his contemporaries to mock
at his pretensions to sanctity. He did not show himself
equal to the task he had set himself. His head was
turned by his sudden successes, and he was tempted
to abandon a spiritual career for a political one, for
which his very virtues rendered him unfit.

Fra Giovanni remained for some time longer at
Verona; but the real ruler was once more Ezzelino.
The Count's party again left the city. The last act of
the monk was to induce the Bolognese to withdraw
their garrisons from the castles in the Veronese district.
Then he retired to Bologna, and so vanishes from our
history.

War once more broke out in the Mark. On the one
side were Ezzelino and Treviso, on the other Padua and
the lords of Camino. Then the Count of San Bonifazio,
with the Lombards, chiefly the men of Brescia and
Mantua, pressed plundering and burning up to the walls
of Verona. The interposition of the Venetians brought
about yet another peace ; and Alberic fulfilled one of the
conditions of the peace of Paquara by giving his daughter
in marriage to the young Rinaldo of Este.

Negotiations were still dragging on between the Pope
and the Lombards with a view to a reconciliation between

THE SECOND LOMBARD LEAGUE 259

the League and the Emperon In spite of Gregory's
representations the confederates would not desist from
attacks on the cities friendly to Frederick, The latter,
wishing to show a mark of his favour to the Cremonese,
had sent to their city a number of elephants, camels, and
other Eastern animals, which he took great pleasure in
collecting. The Milanese and their allies made an attempt
to carry them oflF on the way from Parma to Cremona.
The burghers of the latter city hurried forward to protect
the convoy. Contingents from Reggio, Modena, Parma,
and Pavia came to their aid, and a pitched battle was
fought at Zenevolta, with no very definite result, except
that the animals arrived safely at their destination. We
hear of Piacentines on both sides, the popular party, no
doubt, helping their allies of Cremona, the nobles faith-
ful to their traditional friendship with Milan. At the same
time Bologna broke the truce with Modena, laid waste
its territory, and brought about a revolt of the nobles of
Frignano.

After endless delays the Lombards professed to yield
to the exhortations of the Pope, who was still pressing
for a new Crusade ; and at last declared their readiness
to accept his decision on the points at issue with the
Emperor. This was in October, 1234. A few weeks
later came startling evidence of their perfidy. News
arrived that the Emperor's son, Henry, had raised the
standard of revolt in Germany, and had been recognised
as King of Italy by Milan and her allies.

Henry had already excited suspicions as to his loyalty.
One of Frederick's reasons for his visit to Friuli in 1232
had been to inquire into his conduct, and to take
measures to secure his obedience. Henry had given
all outward assurances of fidelity ; but soon began again
to intrigue against his father. He found but little support
in Germany, therefore he turned to the discontented
Lombards. In December, 1234, ^^^ envoys concluded
a treaty in Milan by which that city, with Brescia, Lodi,
Novara, Bologna, and the Marquis of Montferrat recog-
nised him as King. In return he promised to recognise
the League, to guarantee their immunities, and to espouse

262 . THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

partisans. The towers and houses of eleven families,
supporters of the Count, were destroyed, and the Perugian
Podesti was expelled on the charge of having aided the
conspiracy. This latter action drew down on Ezzelino
the Papal excommunication, of which he took no heed.
He had at last reached the goal for which he had so long
striven. Three times already had he seized on Verona,
and each time he had been forced to relinquish his prey.
Now for the fourth and last time he was master of the
city ; and this time he was to rule it until his death.

CHAPTER X

FREDERICK'S WAR WITH THE LOMBARDS AND WITH
THE CHURCH

The first result of Ezzelino's rule in Verona was that
that city was at once attacked by Vicenza and Padua,
while the Count of San Bonifazio and his party carried
on the war from their castles, Treviso, too, now
definitely broke with Ezzelino, and falling on his lands
in her territory inflicted on them enormous damages,
which Ezzelino, later on, assessed at sixty thousand
pounds. He appealed urgently to Frederick for help,
and in May the advance guard of the Imperial forces,
numberihg five hundred mounted men and one hundred
Saracen bowmen, entered Verona.

Frederick, in the meantime, was assembling his army,
and in August arrived at Trent, where he was welcomed
by the brothers Ezzelino and Alberic. Times had
changed since Barbarossa had been able to gather all
the princes of Germany under his standard for an
invasion of Lombardy. The Germans had now no
liking for campaigns south of the Alps. They were of
opinion that Italy should be conquered by the forces
of the loyal cities and of Frederick's hereditary
possessions, Sicily and Apulia. Only three thousand
mounted men followed the Emperor when, in August,
1236, he made his triumphal entry into Verona, from
which city he hoped to proceed to the complete
subjugation of Lombardy.

The territory of Verona, stretching from the Alps to
the Po, cut off the cities of the Mark from the rest
of the confederates. The lands of Brescia and the

868

264 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

long^ narrow district of Mantua isolated it in turn
from the group of Communes — Parma, Reggio, Modena,
and Cremona — which formed the main strength of the
Imperial party. Isolated again from these by Piacenza
and Lodi were Asti and Pavia. These cities favoured
Frederick's cause; but they were surrounded by
enemies and, for the moment, were compelled to in-
action, especially since the Marquis of Montferrat had
broken with Pavia and had adhered to the League.

On the side of Milan were ranged Alessandria,
Vercelli, Novara, Brescia, Como, Lodi, and Crema.
The smaller communities of Piedmont were neutral or
favoured the League. Piacenza had been fluctuating,
according as the people or the nobles had gained the
upper hand In June of this year, however, a Papal
legate, the Cardinal of Praeneste, had brought about a
reconciliation by which the nobles were restored to the
city. But they began almost at once to plot against
their adversaries, and were favoured by the Cardinal,
who, either secretly inclined to the League or deceived
by the nobles, allowed them to take such measures
that the heads of the popular party left the city.
Sentence of banishment was at once pronounced
against them; and Piacenza, now entirely in the
hands of the nobles, entered the League. The
attitude of Bergamo was doubtful, but, as events
soon showed, its sympathies were with the Emperor.

Mantua formed a connecting link between these
cities and the eastern members of the League. Its
district touched that of Ferrara, which in turn
bordered on the lands of the Marquis of Este on
one side, and on those of Bologna on the other.
Faenza, also a member of the League, was closely
allied with Bologna, and was at this time engaged in
a war which for the moment had made it the pre-
dominant city in Romagna. With Faenza were allied
Imola and Cesena, while the Imperial Vicar in the
province was supported by Ravenna, Rimini, Forli,
Forlimpopoli, Bertinoro, and many feudal lords.
Thus this region was divided between partisans of the

WAR WITH THE LOMBARDS 265

Emperor and of the League. Already before Frederick's
arrival in Italy Faenza had gained the upper hand,
and had forced Forli, Forlimpopoli, and Bertinoro
to submission.

From Verona Frederick could either attack the other
cities of the Mark, which could not easily receive help
from the rest of the confederates, or he could force his
way through to Cremona, and with that city as a base
strike at Milan, the heart of the opposition to him. He
chose the latter alternative. Passing into the southern
territories of Brescia, he captured several castles which
commanded the passage of the Oglio. The confederate
army, estimated at fifty thousand men, contented them-
selves with observing his movements, without hindering
his junction with the army which Cremona, Parma,
Reggio, and Modena had sent to meet him. Then,
fixing his headquarters at Cremona, he attacked the
lands of Mantua, so as to keep open his communications
with Verona.

As soon as the Emperor had crossed the Mincio, the
Paduans, Trevisans, and Vicentines, with the lords of
Camino and Este, assembled all their forces to crush
Verona, the greater part of whose mounted forces had
accompanied Frederick. The united armies laid siege
to the important castle of Rivalta, near the Adige.
Ezzelino had remained behind to protect Verona, and
sent urgent messages to the Emperor for help. Leaving
Cremona in the evening at the head of his cavalry,
Frederick, after a ride of unexampled length, reached
San Bonifazio in twenty-four hours. The news of his
arrival caused a panic in the confederate camp. They
broke up in confusion, and each contingent hastened
with all possible speed back to its own city.

On Ezzelino's advice Frederick pushed forward
against Vicenza. He reached the city before the
burgher infantry. The remaining townsmen and the
horse under the Marquis of Este rejected the summons
to surrender. The Germans and the Veronese at once
attacked the city ; some of the former scaled the walls,
and threw open a gate for their comrades. The Marquis

266 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

fled, and the whole army poured into the city, which
was given over to all the horrors of fire and sword. The
Germans made no distinction l>etween friend and foe.
Even the historian Maurisio, eager partisan of the
Emperor as he was, was stripped of all his belongings,
including his dearly loved books, and dragged about in
chains, until after a few days an Imperial proclamation
ordered the release of the prisoners.

After this exemplary punishment, Frederick showed
himself inclined to mildness. The constitution of the
city was, outwardly at least, recognised, but the choice
of the PodestSi and the practical direction of the
government was left to Ezzelino. The latter was now
master of Verona and Vicenza, and later tradition
revives an old legend in order to show how Frederick
expected him to maintain his power. Walking one day
with him in the Bishop's garden, Frederick, while
discoursing with him on the means for preserving his
hold on Vicenza, began to strike off with his knife the
heads of the tallest flowers, ^^l shall not forget this
lesson,'' was the remark of Ezzelino.

Another anecdote illustrates the mixture of scepticism
and belief as regards many of the prevailing opinions of
the time which is such a feature in Frederick's character.
He asked his astrologer to foretell by which gate he would
leave Vicenza. The astrologer gave him a sealed paper,
to be opened after he had quitted the city. Hoping to
put him to confusion, the Emperor caused a breach
to be made in the wall, and passed out through it with
his army. The paper was opened, and on it was written,
'' Per portam novam exibit rex " 1 <

His sudden and striking success at Vicenza altered
Frederick's plans. He determined to complete the
conquest of the Mark. The season was too advanced
for siege operations, but Frederick carried fire and
sword into the lands of Padua and Treviso, hoping to
terrify these cities into a surrender. Salinguerra now
listened to the counsels of his old ally, and brought

' It appears from Maurisio that there was a gate in Vicenza called
Porta Nova.

MONSBLICB,

To fac9 page 267,

WAR WITH THE LOMBARDS 267

Ferrara over to the Imperial party ; and the lords of
Camino, more hostile to Treviso than to their rivals
of Romano, joined the same party. Though thus cut
off from all outside help, the two cities showed no
signs of yielding. A revolt of the Duke of Austria
recalled Frederick to Germany, and, leaving Ezzelino
as his representative in the Mark, he passed over the
Piave against the German rebels.

In February, 1237, Ezzelino and the Imperial general,
Gebhard von Amstein, left their winter quarters of
Vicenza to attack Padua. To protect themselves in
this peril, the Paduans had entrusted the government
of the Commune to sixteen of the leading nobles, and
in a general assembly had appointed Azzo of Este
general, solemnly handing over to him the banner of
the Commune, and hailing him as the shield and
guardian of the Mark.

Soon, however, it was discovered that some of the
sixteen were in secret communication with Ezzelino.
All fell at once under suspicion, and the Podest^
ordered them to retire to Venice. Instead of obeying,
all but two fled to their castles, and soon declared
openly for the Emperor. Then, by a bold march
along the skirts of the Euganean hills, the Imperial
forces fell on the castle of Cartura, where the Paduans
had placed two hundred chosen knights, in order to
keep open their communications with Este. The
surprise was complete, and the whole force was
captured. Next Ezzelino advanced on the strong
fortress of Monselice. This was an Imperial castle,
but the castellans had been forced to acknowledge
the supremacy of Padua. This they were now glad
to shake off, and Monselice surrendered without
a blow.

The Marquis of Este saw his own territories now
cut off from Padua. Ezzelino sent to him ordering
him to decide whether he would be for or against
the Emperor, and the Marquis, abandoning his^ trust,
at once submitted.

Confusion now reigned in Padua. The Podesta fled,

268 THE LOlfBABD OOMMUNES

and the city, left without a leader, was torn by con-
flicting counsels. However, the patriotic party had still
sufficient courage left to repel a first assault with con-
siderable loss to the assailants. But the friends of the
captured knights were above all anxious for their
security ; and their influence was such that, not twenty-
four hours after this success, they had carried a motion,
proposed by Ezzelino's secret partisans, to surrender the
city in exchange for the captives.

The treaty was soon made ; the constitution and the
rights of the Commune were to remain untouched, and
Ezzelino even promised to use his utmost endeavours to
secure the welfare of the city. The Imperial army was
met outside the gates by the whole population, and
greeted with all outward demonstrations of joy. When
Ezzelino came to the Porta Torrisella, he removed his
helmet and, leaning from his horse, kissed the gatepost.
To the more hopeful among the burghers it seemed a
symbol of goodwill and future protection ; to Exzelino
it meant that the day of vengeance had dawned for that
people who, as the chronicler puts it, ** were wont to
hate and persecute him as if he were a wolf."

Padua had surrendered in the end of February, and
but a few weeks later Treviso, left helpless, submitted to
the Empire, or rather to the lordship of Ezzelino. The
words of his father when, ten years before, he had
counselled him to submit for the moment to Padua, but
to bide his time in the hope of one day seeing not Padua
alone, but all the Mark at his feet, had come true. The
old man had carefully treasured in his memory a saying
of his wife, the Tuscan Adelaide of Mangona, who was
believed to be gifted with supernatural powers. The
first half of the prophecy seemed now to have been ful-
filled. The double meaning that lurked in the obscure
Latin lines had escaped the notice of Ezzelino the Monk
and his sons.

Thus when Frederick returned to Italy in September,
1237, he found one considerable province already lost to
the League In the interval Ezzelino had laid siege to
the castle of San Bonifazio; and though its great

WAR WITH THE LOMBARDS 269

strength and the valour of its defender, the youthful
son of the Count and of Ezzelino's sister, the celebrated
Cunizza, had so far foiled his efforts, its reduction by
hunger was only a question of time. It was all important
to the Count to prevent this fortress falling into the
hands of the Veronese ; so on condition that the siege
should be raised and his possessions secured to him he
submitted to Frederick. More important still, he brought
over to the Imperial side Mantua, a city which was
altogether guided by him. Frederick received the sub-
mission of this Commune in October, on guaranteeing
to it all its liberties.

This was the weak point in Frederick's position. He
relied on Italian aid to subdue the League, and was not
strong enough to hold down by main force the cities
which had come over to him. He was therefore forced
to recognise the existing constitutions, placing the
government in the hands of those among the burghers
who for one reason or other supported him. Still less
could he interfere with those Communes which had
always been on his side. Cremona and Parma were
just as jealous of their lit>erties as was Milan ; it was
hatred of that city, far more than devotion to the Empire,
which had ranged them under Frederick's banner. No
doubt Frederick hoped later on to establish his direct
authority in the cities, and to be as much master of
them as any other king was of his dominions. For the
moment, however, he was forced to respect the autonomy
of all — an autonomy, we niust admit, which was but the
merest shadow in the cases of Vicenza and Padua.

At the opening of his second campaign Frederick
might well congratulate himself on his previous
successes. Only Bologna and Faenza, of the eastern
cities, still remained to the League. The western
cities, however, grouped round Milan, were still bent
on resistance; and against them Frederick directed his
forces.

With the contingents of all the Italian Communes of
his party, amongst whom were many burghers of Trent,
a city which does not often come into our story, two

270 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

thousand German cavalry and a force of Saracen bow-
men, variously estimated as seven or ten thousand strong,
the Emperor set out from Goitb, in the district of Mantua,
and entered the lands of the Brescians. With him were
Ezzelino, the Marquis of Este, and the Count of San
Bonifazio. The Emperor had with him an elephant,
which excited the wonder of the Italians. ''And on
this beast of an elephant," so the chronicler of Mantua
quaintly puts it,"* was a Carroccio, and over the Carroccio
floated the standard of the Empire, and armed Chris-
tians and Saracens were in the Carroccio." The castles
in the southern territory of Brescia soon fell into his
hands.

The confederate Lombards had assembled a consider-
able army to check his advance towards Milan. We are
told that a few years before the Milanese had raised a
force of seven thousand cavalry, under seven captains,
and that they could put fifty thousand infantry under
arms. It was thus easy for the League to equip a
considerable field army, while leaving the cities amply
garrisoned.

The army of the League advanced across the narrow
portion of the district of Bergamo which separated the
Contado of Milan from that of Brescia. They crossed
the Oglio, and posted themselves at Manerbio, halfway
on the direct route from Cremona to Brescia. The
swampy natiu-e of the ground effectually protected their
position from attack. From this spot they were able to
cover Brescia, and to keep a watch on Bergamo, which
had lately shown leanings towards the Imperial party.
The Emperor took up his quarters at Ponte Vico, where
the modern railway from Cremona to Brescia crosses the
Oglio. The outpost of the two armies were in touch
with one another.

The position taken up by the confederates had one
serious disadvantage. If Frederick were to cross the
Oglio, and advance through the northern part of the
friendly territory of Cremona, he could easily place him-
self between their army and Milan, while he himself
would have a secure line of communication with Cre-

WAR WITH THE LOMBARDS 271

mona. He might even make a dash on Crema, or Milan
itself, before the army of the League could come to the
rescue. We must suppose, however, that the con-
federates had seen this latter danger and provided against
it by leaving strong garrisons in Lodi and Crema, as well
as in the castles between the latter city and their quarters
at Manerbio,

Frederick was above all things anxious to draw his
opponents to a pitched battle in the open. They were
fully alive to the danger to them of this, and remained
in their position, which Frederick did not venture to
attack. The armies faced one another for a fortnight,
during which time Papal envoys attempted to renew the
negotiations for peace which they had been carrying on
during the summer, and which the obstinacy of the
nobles of Piacenza had brought to nothing. The
Emperor would not listen to them. The time for
negotiations was passed ; the Lombards must submit
or let the sword decide.

The confederates trusted that the lateness of the season
would of itself cause the break up of Frederick's army.
The contingents from the Italian cities would not remain
long in the field ; the Germans and Saracens would
suffer from the swampy soil and the November rains.
The Emperor was quite aware of their hopes, and knew
that it would be difiEicult for them too to keep their
forces under arms. He laid his plans accordingly. He
gave out that he intended to retire to Cremona for the
winter, and sent on some of his troops to the city. Then
he broke up his camp, and, abandoning the Brescian
territory, crossed the Oglio with his whole army.

The Lombards believed that Frederick's army was
disbanded, and that he had withdrawn to Cremona.
Leaving Manerbio they gladly began their homeward
march. They crossed the Oglio, and on the 27th of
November, four days after Frederick had left his camp,
they had reached Cortenuova in the district of Bergamo,
marching carelessly and singing as they went, when they
were suddenly assailed by the Saracens of the Imperial
vanguard. The Emperor, in fact, instead of retiring

272 THE LOMBARD CX)MMUNES

south to Cremona, had advanced northwards along the
right hank of the Oglio, and had posted his whole army
on the flank of the retiring Loml>ards.

Taken completely by surprise, and attacked with vigour
by the enemy, who fell on them with shouts of " Miles,
Roma I Miles, Imperator 1 " the confederates, consist-
ing of the flower of the cavalry and infantry of Milan,
with contingents from Alessandria, Como, Crema, Vercelli,
Novara, and Piacenza, hastily got their ranks into some
sort of order, and repelled the first charge of the Saracens.
They even held their ground against the charges of the
flower of the German and Italian knights headed by the
Emperor, his son Enzio and Ezzelino, until, finding their
flank menaced by a force from Bergamo, they were forced
to give ground. But a picked body of the chosen youth
of Milan, the Company of the Forti, who had bound
themselves by oath to die rather than yield, maintained
their ranks unbroken around the Carroccio of their city,
until night put an end to the combat.

Frederick ordered his troops to sleep in their armour,
so as to be ready to renew the battle at the first light of
morning. The Podesta of Milan, finding his army too
shaken to renew the combat, ordered a retreat in the
night, hoping thus to save the Carroccio and the bulk of
his army. The heavy rains had made the roads im-
passable, and the ponderous wagon stuck fast in the
mud. It was found at daybreak by the Imperial cavalry,
lying overturned in the midst of the abandoned baggage
train of the confederates, stripped of its ornaments, with
the exception of the golden cross« which its guards had
not been able to detach from the top of the mast. The
cavalry soon overtook the fugitives and scattered them in
hopeless rout. ^'Then the renowned knighthood of
Pavia avenged itself on the knights of Milan, and faithful
Cremona with its allies dyed its axes in blood, and the
Saracens emptied their quivers," cries exultantly Pietro
delle Vigne, Frederick's chancellor. Milan, alone, is said
to have lost eight hundred knights and three thousand
foot-soldiers. The Imperialists declared that ten thousand
men, probably half the hostile army, had perished or had

WAR WITH THE LOMBARDS 273

been captured. Among the captives was the Milanese
Podesta, Tiepolo, son of the Doge of Venice, and more
than three hundred nobles of Milan, Alessandria, Novara,
and Vercelli. The Archbishop of Milan, who had ac-
companied his flock to battle, could not be found. To
complete the disaster, the men of Bergamo fell on the
fugitives scattered throughout their territory and captured
them in numbers.' Scarcely any would have reached
Milan had not Pagano della Torre, lord of the Valsas-
sina, between the district of Bergamo and the Lake of
Como, guided them across the mountains into his lands,
thrown open his castles to them, provided them with
food and clothing, and escorted them to Milan.^ This
act of kindness sank deep into the hearts of the populace,
and in later days opened to the Delia Torre the way to
the lordship over the city*

After this great victory Frederick made a triumphal
entry into Cremona, wearing his crown and preceded by
the long train of captives. The Milanese Carroccio was
dragged along by the elephant, and the captive Podesta
was lashed to the standard pole. Tiepolo and many of
the chief captives were then sent to Apulian dungeons ;
the Carroccio was sent, with a pompous letter describ-
ing the victory, as a present to the Roman people, and
placed on the Capitol.

In Milan the news of the disaster was followed by an
outburst of despair, which, as is often the case in Italy,
found expression in wild blasphemy. If we can believe
Matthew Paris, the mob broke into the churches, hung
the crucifixes upside down, ddfiled the very altars, and
laid violent hands on the clergy. The League seemed
shattered. Lodi submitted almost at once, and thus the
road to Pavia was opened. Frederick spent the early

' According to many writers, it was only after the battle that
Bergamo declared for the Emperor, hence the fugitives expected no
attack in their territory.

* It seems up to this to have escaped notice that the city of
Bergamo lies between Cortenuova and the Valsassina, and that
the latter lies completely aside from the route from Ck>rtenuova to
Milan. The confederate army must, therefore, have been driven
northward towards the mountains.

274 THE LOMBABD COMMUNES

days of January in that city ; and we can imagine with
what ecstasies of delist the inhabitants once more saw
an Emperor within their walls. They had of late years
been forced more and more to yield to the power of
Milan ; now at last they might look for the destruction
of their rival.

By March, Novara and Vercelli, the Marquis of
Montferrat, all the cities of Piedmont as far as Susa,
with the single excq>tion of Alessandria, had sent in
their submission to the Emperor. Como came over to
his side soon after, and thus Milan was left isolated
from all her allies.

The few remaining cities of the LpCague sent to treat
for peace. Accounts di£Fer widely as to what concessions
they were prepared to make ; but it is certain that they
fell short of the Emperor's demands. He wished to have
the same authority over the Communes as every other
king had in his dominions ; and to this the Lombards
would not consent The Milanese, voicing the deter-
mination of the rest of the confederates, declared that
they would rather perish sword in hand beneath the
ruins of the city thaui submit and die more slowly by
hunger and oppression. As a matter of fact their
position was by no means so desperate as appears at
first sight. They knew that Pope and Emperor were
once more drifting towards an open quarrel. The actual
subjects in dispute were trivial ; but it was certain that
a Pope with political views such as Gregory's must look
with lively alarm on the complete destruction of Lombard
freedom. Frederick would then be as much master of
Northern Italy as he already was of the south, and would
have the Papacy completely at his mercy. He had
already given ample grounds for the su^idon that he
would strive to reduce the Popedom to a complete sub-
jection to the civil power. The Pope would be reduced
to the level of the Patriarch of Constantinople. Even if
we reject the rumours that Gregory sent secret en-
couragement to the Milanese, it must have been perfectly
evident to them that a rupture between the Papacy and
the Empire was only a matter of time. The question

WAR WITH THE LOMBABDS 275

was Could fhey hold out until an actual breach took
place?

In the then state of military science a walled city^
if properly provisioned and free from traitors within
the wallsy could resist almost indefinitely a besieging
army however strong. A common danger had united
the Milanese. They strengthened their walls and laid
in ample stores of food The constitution of Frederick's
army gave them time for this. The Imperial authority
had been greatly weakened in Germany since the days
of Barbarossa, largely owing to concessions forced from
his grandson when contending against Otho of Bruns-
wick, or preparing for the Crusade. He could not force
the Germans to take the field in sufficient numbers, nor
did his finances enable him to raise a mercenary force,
or, if raised, to hold it long together. The Italian con-
tingents could hardly remain away from home for any
considerable period. In fact, after Cortenuova Frederick's
army had broken up, and months must elapse before
a new one could be assembled. All these considera-
tions eml)oldened the cities, Milan, Alessandria, Brescia,
Piacenza, Bologna, and Faenza, which stiU held out

Not till the August after Cortenuova was Frederick
again ready to assume the offensive. The Marquis
Lancia, at the head of a force supplied by Pavia, Asti,
and the other cities west of the Ticino, prepared to
reduce Alessandria, while Frederick with the main army
attacked &escia. A powerful army had at last come
from Germany. No less than eight prelates and many
lay princes appeared in person at the head of their
vs^ssUs. A large force of Apulians and Saracens was
furnished by Frederick's hereditary dominions. A
choice body of cavalry came from the Rhone Valley,
and the Lombards of the Imperial party sent their
contingents.' Even foreign countries sent men to
swell the host Henry III. of England, Frederick's
father-in-law, supplied one hundred knights and a great
sum of money. The Count of Toulouse, the King of

' Some of the Brescian nobles, hostile to the popular party,
served under Frederick's banner.

276 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

Castile, the Emperor Vataces, even, it is said, the Soldan
of Egypt sent chosen warriors to display their valour
under the Imperial eagle, as if to some great tourna-
ment

The great host assembled at Goito, a castle in the
Mantuan territory, of which the name, but not the
physical features, figure in Browning's ^'Sordello/' and
advanced on Brescia, the conquest of which seemed
easier than that of Milan, and would probably terrify
the other confederates into submission. But tiie men
of Brescia —

'Brescia the armed, Brescia the strong,
In valour clothed more stubborn than her steel—"

have always been famed for courage above the common
order. They prepared, with greater resources, to emulate
the resistance offered by Crema two generations before
in a similar crisis. For more than two months they
defied all attacks, and even made numerous successful
sorties. In the Emperor's camp was a famous Spanish
engineer, Calamandrino by name, who directed the siege
operations. He was captured in one of the sorties, and
forced by threats of death to give his services to the
besieged. All the engines known to the military science
of the time, mangonels, catapults, great movable towers,
were employed against the defences; but the courage
and skill of the Brescians beat off all attacks. Exasperated
by the long resistance, the Emperor caused the captives
taken in the preceding year in the Brescian castles to
be bound to the front of the towers, which were moved
up against the walls. This cruel action proved as useless
now as formerly before Crema ; the burghers did not
slacken in their resistance, encouraged by the exhorta-
tions of the prisoners, who preferred death to the ruin
of their country. In revenge the German captives were
hung by the arms over the most vulnerable points of
the fortifications.

The siege lasted into October, and the Imperial army
made no progress. The autumn rains began to sow

WAR WITH THE LOMBARDS 277

disease in their camp, and in a last great sortie the
Brescians inflicted heavy loss on the assailants, and
almost penetrated to the Emperor's tent. Next day
Frederick abandoned the siege,' burned his machines,
and concluding a truce with Brescia, withdrew to
Cremona, where his army disbanded.

The siege of Brescia is the turning-point in Frederick's
struggle with the Lombards. His failure encouraged his
adversaries beyond measure. All his efforts had been foiled
by one city, and the remaining confederates had not
only been left unmolested, but had been able to take the
offensive. Bologna had ravaged the Modenese, Milan
the lands of Pavia and Bergamo, Piacenza those of Cre-
mona. The Cremonese, helped by some of Frederick's
troops, had indeed given their adversaries a great over-
throw, taking a thousand prisoners; but as a set-off to
this Alessandria had successfully resisted all attacks.

Even in the Mark Frederick's authority, or rather that
of Ezzelino who ruled it in Frederick's name, had not
been undisturbed. The former ruling class in the Com-
munes was impatient of Ezzelino's authority, which was
daily taking away all but the shadow of communal liberty.
The Count's party were hostile to him in Verona; in
Vicenza the nobles, laying aside all their private quarreb,
united against him, and withdrew to their castles. In
Padua, where both nobles and middle classes were his
enemies, a widespread conspiracy was formed to give
the city into the hands of the Marquis of Este, and its
success would have meant, beyond all doubt, the loss of
that city to the Imperial cause.

The Marquis appeared, in the July previous to the
siege of Brescia, before the Porta Torrisella, and at
the same moment his supporters inside the mils rose.
Ezzelino, after the first surprise, called his German
troops to arms; he was just in time to prevent the
conspirators from opening the gate, and the majority
of them fled from the city. He himself, with a small
'body of cavalry, sallied out by another gate, and,
skirting the walls, fell unexpectedly on his enemies,
' October 9, 1238.

278 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

who were drawn up in the Prato della Valle. They fled
before the unexpected onslaught, and only the fleetness
of his horse saved the Marquis from captivity. Ezzelino
at once attacked the Marquis's lands. Este was captured
after a short siege ; but Montagnana defied all his efforts.
Ezzelino was forced to retreat, and soon afterwards the
Marquis recovered Este. Ezzelino found his position so
unsafe that he wrote urgent letters asking the Emperor
for help.

Early in 1239 the Emperor visited the Mark, where he
was received with all outward signs of loyalty. He pro-
fessed to look on the warfare between Ezzelino and the
Marquis as a mere private quarrel, and invited the latter to
his court, where he sought to reconcile the two adversaries.
Ezzelino pretended to obey, but his spies kept a careful
account of all the Paduans who visited the Marquis.
They were marked down as victims for the future
vengeance of Ezzelino.

Frederick made a considerable stay in Padua, elabora-
ting a series of enactments which would establish his
authority on a firm basis in those parts of Lombardy
under his control. At the same time he gave expression
to his love of splendour by the magnificent festivities
with which he sought to dazzle the people; and the
Paduans, following their pleasure^loving nature, vied
with him and his courtiers in pomp of dress and
splendid entertainments.

An interruption came when news was brought that on
Palm Sunday, while Frederick was presiding with Im-
perial pomp over the annual festivities in the Prato della
Valle, the Pope had solemnly pronounced sentence of
excommunication against him in Rome.

The open breach between Pope and Emperor bad
come at last. Perhaps the chief among the many causes
of his action put forward by the Pope was Frederick's
proceedings in relation to Sardinia. The Popes had
long claimed to be suzerains of this island, and several
of the great Pisan families, who had divided the island
amongst themselves after the expulsion of the Moors, had
acknowledged the claim. But^ just before the end of the

WAR WITH THE LOMBARDS 279

siege of Brescia, the Emperor had brought about the
marriage of his son Enzio with the heiress of a large part
of the island, and had allowed him to take the title of
King of Sardinia. The Pope looked on this as an in-
fringement of the rights of the Church; Frederick, how-
ever, declared that Sardinia lawfully belonged to the
Empire, and refused satisfaction. The Pope began now
openly to take part with the Lombards. A Papal legate
appeared in Milan, and Frederick was required to submit
his quarrel with the League to Papal arbitration.

Prudence should have counselled the Emperor to
refrain from all provocation to the Pope until the
Lombards had been conquered. His honour was,
however, touched by the Papal demands ; and the result
of his former conflict with Gregory had led him into
the fatal error of undervaluing the real strength of the
Papacy. He therefore rejected Gregory's proposal, and
gave no attention to his threats.

In the meantime events had greatly strengthened the
pontiff. He was sure of the support of Milan and her
allies. The Venetians, too, irritated at Frederick's treat-
ment of the son of their Doge, and hoping to make
conquests on the coasts of Apulia, placed their resources
at his disposal. A happy chance, too, threw Genoa on
his side.

The Genoese had so far held aloof from the war in
Lombardy. Frederick sent envoys to win them over to
his cause. As the city was torn by feuds between the
nobles, and the towns on the western Riviera were in
revolt, he hoped to establish his influence in the Com-
mune. Before the arrival of his ambassadors peace had
been restored within and without the walls ; and the
envoys found the government hesitating as to their
attitude.

They determined to refer the matter to the general
assembly of the burghers. The Podesti, a member of a
great Milanese house, read out the Imperial rescript, in
which Frederick demanded that the city should take " an
oath of fealty and homage" to him* But by the alteration
of a single letter he made it appear that the Emperor

280 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

required an oath of '^ fealty and subjection/' ' The anger
of the quick-tempered assembly took fire at this demand,
which seemed to imply the surrender of their liberties.
The envoys were dismissed, and Genoa put itself under
the protection of the Church.

The Pope could now rely on the help of the two great
maritime Communes, and the Lombards had been
strengthened by the acquisition of Ravenna, which had
hitherto supported the Emperor. There was a faction in
the city hostile to the ruling party, and these, headed by
Paolo Traversari, head of a great noble family, seized the
government early in 1239, and allied themselves with
Faenza and Bologna. The excommunication of the
Emperor was practically a declaration of war against
him by the Pope. Once more a Pope and a Lombard
League were arrayed against an Emperor of the House
of Swabia. From this moment we may with certainty
apply to the contending parties the names of Guelf
and Ghibelline.

Frederick affected to make light of the excommunica-
tion. His chancellor, the celebrated Pietro delle Vigne,
justified his conduct in a set oration before the assembled
Paduans; and to the document in which Gregory set
forth the grounds of his action, he answered in letters to
all Christian kings and prelates, to the great lords of
Germany and France, and to the Roman people.

He then prepared to leave the Mark. To secure his
tranquillity he took hostages, amongst them the son of the
Marquis of Este and his young wife, daughter of Alberic
of Romano. Alberic's attitude had for some time been
doubtful. Probably he was jealous of his brother's influ-
ence with the Emperor. This treatment of his daughter
now roused his anger. He entered into an alliance with
his old enemies the Da Camino, and by a sudden attack
on Treviso they made themselves masters of the city,
expelling the Imperial garrison. Treviso at once
placed herself under the protection of the Pope and
the Venetians.

' Instead of " joramentam fidelitatis et hominii/'' he read out
« juramentum fidelitatis et dominii."

WAB WITH THE LOMBARDS 281

Frederick at once called out the whole force of Padua
to recover the city. He soon saw that this would not be
an easy task. The frontier town of Castelfranco defied
him for several days, until an eclipse of the sun gave him
a pretext for raising the siege. His presence seemed
necessary in Central Lombardy, so, in order to secure
the Paduans to his cause, he gave their Commune a
grant of all the lands of Treviso as far as the River Sile,
on which the city stands. The Paduan army was dis-
banded, and the Emperor, accompanied by the Marquis
and some Vicentine nobles, set out for Verona. On the
way one of their friends, a confidant of the Emperor, is
said, looking at them, to have drawn his hand significantly
across his throat, indicating that their lives were in dan-
ger. The road led near the castle of San Bonifazio; and
Este and his friends asked the Emperor's leave to visit
the Count. Leave was granted, they went ; but the
Emperor waited in vain for their return. Safe in the
almost impregnable castle, they paid attention neither
to Frederick's promises nor to his threats ; and a few
days later the Marquis, the Count, and all their adherents
were declared traitors.

It would have been Frederick's most natural course to
crush Treviso and Este before proceeding against the
other hostile cities. But, whether it was that he thought
that Ezzelino could put down the rebels, or that his allies
elsewhere urgently demanded his presence, he left the
Mark. His operations during the following months seem
carried out without any fixed plan. In spite of the
brilliant campaign culminating at Cortenuova, Frederick
seems to have been wanting in the higher requisites of a
general. Instead of consistently following out one great
and well-devised plan, he is continually turning aside,
guided by the impulse of the moment.

So, first, with the levy of Modena and aid from other
cities he attacked Bologna. From here he returned to
Central Lombardy without having done more than take
a few castles. News of discord between the nobles and
the people in Milan and the revolt to his side of Lecco
and other places on the Lake of Como determined this

282 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

action. Aided above all by the Cremonese, he entered
the Milanese territory and laid it waste. The indignant
chronicler of Milan exclaims that more than twenty
times had the Carroccio of Milan entered the lands of
Cremona, and that now once, under the protection of the
Emperor, did the Cremonese Carroccio ventm-e into the
district of Milan.

Undeterred by Cortenuova, the Milanese put in the
field a large army, in which even monks and priests
were enrolled, under the leadership of the Pope's
legate. By skilful use of the numerous waterways
which intersect the Lombard plain, and by digging new
canals, they protected their territories while avoiding the
risks of a pitched battle. Although Frederick, besides
his Saracens and the Italian levies, had now five
thousand Gernuns in his army, he withdrew without
having inflicted much damage.

He now determined to leave the Lombards alone and
to crush the Pope. He knew that the latter was trying
to turn all Christendom against him, and was fomenting
a revolt in Gemuny. Once before energetic action
against the Papal territories had brought Gregory to
consent to peace; he hoped that similar action now
would lead to like results. Besides, if he remained any
longer in the north of Italy trouble was almost certain
to arise in his southern possessions. Already Enzio had
been sent to reduce the Mark of Ancona, now Frederick
passed into Tuscany.

There can be little doubt that Frederick's action was
a mistake. The Pope's efforts in other parts of Europe
met for the moment with but little success. To crush
the Lombards was the most important matter for the
Emperor, and the Pope might easily have been deprived
of most of his dominions, even though Frederick himself
had remained in Lombardy.

The cities of the Papal states were as much inclined
to resist the Pope's authority as those of Lombardy were
adverse to that of the Emperor. Frederick found but
little difficulty in overrunning most of Central Italy, and
even Rome itself seemed incapable of resistance* But

WAR WITH THE LOMBARDS 283

Gregory was saved by his own indomitable courage.
Putting aside all thoughts of submission, although he
knew that the Emperor had won over a strong party
in the city, he appealed to the religious feelings of the
Romans. He quitted his palace surrounded by all the
prelates then in the city and by the entire Roman clergy.
Bearing aloft the most sacred relics, they passed in
solemn procession to the sound of penitential psalms.
Arrived at the Lateran the aged pontifiE — he had nearly
reached his hundredth year — ^took the crown from his
head and placed it on the relics of the Apostles Peter and
Paul, exclaiming, " Defend it, O Holy Ones 1 Do you
defend the city which the Romans leave to the mercy
of the enemies of God I " Then, with a voice broken
by tears, he drew such a moving picture of the peril of
the Church and of Frederick's crimes that the listening
multitude was won over to his cause, the partisans of
the Emperor fled, and the populace in a fury of enthu-
siasm assumed the cross against the enemy of the
Church.

Frederick could effect nothing against this combina-
tion of the citizens with the Pope, and giving up all idea
of a siege retired to his Apulian kingdom.

In the meantime the Lombards had not remained idle.
The Marquis of Este had recovered most of his castles
in the Euganean hills, and apparently about this time
Mantua, following the example of the Count of San
Bonifazio, had revolted from the Emperor. Urged by
the Papal legate, a Diet of the League, assembled at
Bologna towards the close of the year 1239, deter-
mined on a more important enterprise — the reduction
of Ferrara.

This city had enjoyed unexampled prosperity during
the fifteen years of Salinguerra's rule. The Po, which
at that time flowed by the city, as well as various navig-
able canals, afforded easy access to ships from the East
and brought wealth to the inhabitants. Great fairs, held
twice a year, attracted merchants even from France.
The burners, enjoying practical liberty under the wise
guidance of Salinguerra, vied with one another in con-

284 THE LOMBARD 00MMX7NBS

tributing to the needs of the State. It was considered a
disgrace to be taxed at too small a sum ; the rich volun-
tarily yielded more than the taxgatherers demanded ;
their granaries, and above all those of Salinguerra, stood
open to the poor in times of scarcity. So wealthy was
the Commune that, after paying all expenses of adminis-
tration, there remained a surplus, which was divided
every month among the burghers.

The war in Lombardy and Salinguerra's adherence
to Frederick's side increased this prosperity. Ferrara
became the natural port from which Frederick main-
tained his communications with Apulia and Sicily.
The soldiers and supplies brought by sea from these
territories could be sent up the Po or the Mincio to
Frederick's headquarters, and as the control of the
greater part of the waterways of Lombardy was in
Frederick's hand, the merchants of Ferrara had easy
means of forwarding the goods which came to them
from the East to the inland cities, and then to the
countries beyond the Alps.

Precisely such a traffic had made the wealth of the
Venetians. It had been their constant aim to establish
a monopoly of the trade between the East and the shores
of the Adriatic. Hence we find them always ready to
attack cities such as Ancona or Ravenna which ventured
to compete with them. Their attitude towards the in-
creasing trade of Ferrara was therefore one of uncon-
cealed hostility. Already their fleet had blockaded the
mouths of the Po in order to force all merchant ships
to take their course to Venice ; but the Ferrarese had
equipped a fleet in their turn, and had completely
defeated the blockaders, carrying home in triumph
several captured ships.

The Venetians were eager for revenge, and entered
warmly into the scheme for an attack on Ferrara.
February, 1240, saw the city encircled by three armies.
The Venetians supplied one, Bologna, Ravenna, and
other Communes of Romagna another, the third was
composed of the Mantuans under San Bonifazio, with
whom were the Marquis of Este and Alberic of Romano

WAB WITH THE LOMBARDS 285

with i force from Treviso. Contingents from Milan,
Brescia, and Piacenza swelled its numbers.

Salinguerra, now almost eighty years of age, did not
lose courage. The populace was devoted to him ; five
hundred German cavalry had been sent to him by the
Emperor. Reggio and Modena had sent a picked body
of auxiliaries. To pay these he had a great treasure,
four immense jars full of gold, as the chronicler relates.'

For four months the besieging armies held the city
shut in. Repeated assaults failed, and even the siege
machines from Venice had little effect on the fortifica-
tions. Long prosperity had, however, sapped the con-
stancy of the townsmen. The wealthy middle class could
not bear to see their trafiCic cut off by the blockade and
their fields laid waste by the enemy. The majority of
the nobles had always been hostile to Salinguerra;
now they joined with the merchants in insisting on
peace. Salinguerra had to yield, and terms of surrender
were agreed upon. The city and its inhabitants were
to be preserved from all plunder or injury ; Salinguerra
was to go free to his house. The Leaguers entered the
city early in June, and at once seized Salinguerra. In
vain he invoked the treaty. His perfidious enemies
declared that they had allowed him to return in safety
to his house, and so had carried out the letter of their
compact. The Marquis of Este was the only one who
protested against this violation of the terms of surrender.
Salinguerra was sent to Venice, where he spent the four
remaining years of his life in an honourable captivity,
and on his death was buried with due respect in the
church of San Niccolo di Lido.

The city was governed for two years by a Venetian
Podest^, and then by Azzo of Este, backed up by his
faction. We are told that so evil was the new rule that
fifteen hundred persons — or families, according to some —
left the city. Azzo's power was now established on the
wreck of the opposite party. Thenceforward Ferrara
ceased to exist as a free Commune. With Verona it
gives us the earliest example of how the fury of party
' Four dolia, according to the *<Chroiilcon Parvum Ferrariense/'

286 THE LOMBABD COMMUNES

strife within a Commune led to the voluntary surrender
of freedom into the hands of a despot.

The capture of Ferrara was a serious blow to the
Imperial interests, and ttireatened Ezcelino's position
in the Mark. As some compensation to the Ghibelline
cause at the other extremity of Lombardy a faction
favourable to Frederick, which had for some time
existed in Alessandria, now got the upper hand and
brought the city over to his side.

It must excite surprise Uiat no determined attempt to
relieve Ferrara was made by tiie Communes allied with
the Emperor. Attacks on Treviso and on the lands of
Este did not draw off the besiegers. Ezzelino indeed
captured Bassano, the chief seat of the power of the
Romanos, which had fallen to Alberic at the division
of the family property. But he seems to have acted at
this juncture without any well-considered plan, and most
of his energies were directed to suppressing the discon-
tent which the severities of his rule had provoked in
Vicenza, Verona, and Padua. Up to the period when
he had established himself in the latter city his diaracter
compares favourably with that of the general run of his
contemporaries. Now a strain of cruelty and suspicion
showed itself ever more and distinctly, until these
passions had obtained such a mastery over him that
he developed into a tyrant such as Italy up to then
had never seen. Executions by the sword or by fire
followed close on one another. Cruelty provoked fresh
discontent; the suspicious tyrant found, or pretended
to find, that plot followed on plot. A reign of terror
began in Padua. The friends of the House of Este were
marked down for destruction. Eighteen persons were
hanged merely because they had been seen speaking to
Jacopo da Carrara, who had revolted to the side of the
Marquis. The sole survivor of the rival House of Cam-
posampiero fled to Ferrara, his friends were imprisoned,
and after some years left to die of starvation. The
most influential citizens fled, their goods were seized,
their houses and towered palaces destroyed. Writing
three years after the fall of the tyrant, Rolandino says

[Ml

Ti 1 1 I I ■ > ' ' '

1 1 1 1 1 I I 1 I ■ I i

1 1 n 1 1

„ >■ 1 • 1 1 1 1 1 r

fTlT
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Bassano.
EzzELiNo's Castle.

ce page \

WAR WITH THE LOMBARDS 287

that one-half of the once flourishing city still lay in
ruins.

Against direct attacks of Este and of the Mantuans
Ezzelino gained brilliant victories in the field ; he failed,
however, entirely to overcome his enemies. Alberic and
the Da Camino maintained their hold on Treviso ; the
Marquis held his own in the Euganean hills ; the Count
of San Bonifazio and the Vicentine nobles held out in
the castles in the hill country between Vicenza and
Verona. In the rest of Lombardy the two parties
balanced one another; the presence of Frederick was
required to turn the scale in favour of his supporters.

Accordingly the Emperor quitted his Apulian dominions,
where he had successfully combated all attempts at revolt,
and, two months after the fall of Ferrara, appeared in
Romagna. Reinforced by contingents from nearly all
Tuscany, and by the levies of most of the smaller
Romagnol Communes, he advanced on Ravenna, which
surrendered after a brief resistance. Then he turned on
Faenza, the chief centre of opposition to him in this
region.

Faenza was at this time the foremost of the cities of
Romagna. It was strongly fortified, and its thirty-six
thousand inhabitants were united in their determination
to resist, for they had shortly before expelled a Ghibelline
faction which had come into existence owing to a private
feud between two noble houses.

As usual in the sieges of the period, a blockade had to
be substituted for direct assaults. The winter was severe,
but Frederick held his ground round the walls. A wooden
city took the place of tents, and lines strengthened by
forts cut off Faenza from all outside help. To pay
his troops the Emperor was forced to melt his plate and
pledge his jewels. As this did not suffice, he stamped
money of leather, which after his final victory was re-
deemed in pieces of gold. The citizens began to suffer
from hunger. They tried to send out of the walls the
" useless mouths," but the Emperor refused to let them
pass his lines. A part of the walls had fallen before the
siege engines, and mines had been driven under them in

288 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

other portions. An offer to surrender, if the burghers
might leave the city and settle, abandoning all their
goods, wherever the Emperor might direct, was rejected.
Frederick demanded an unconditional submission. At
length, after an eight months' siege, the burghers gave
way, and issued from the walls, to face, as they believed,
a certain death. But with wonderful generosity Frederick
pardoned their obstinacy, as well as the shameful insults
which they had, in the days of their prosperity, heaped
not only on him, but on his mother, llieir lives and
property, even their constitution, were left to them on
the sole condition that they should swear allegiance to
him and renounce their alliance with the Lombards.

Cesena submitted shortly afterwards, and so all
Romagna was now obedient to the Emperor. A few
days after the fall of Faenza news reached Frederick of
another great success. The Pope had summoned a
General Council to meet in Rome in the spring of 124^9
in order to give judgement in the conflict between him
and the Emperor. Frederick, having no confidence in
the impartiality of such a tribunal, had done all in his
power to prevent its assembling. Scarcely any of the
German prelates obeyed the Papal summons, but from
England and France a considerable number set out for
Rome. Frederick refused to allow them to pass through
the parts of Italy in his power, and his lieutenant, the
Count of Savoy, guarded the Alpine passes leading from
France into Italy.

The Pope therefore turned for help to the Genoese,
and this people undertook to fit out a fleet sufficient to
carry the Bishops from Nice, where many of them had
assembled, to the Roman coast. That Genoa should take
part with the Pope was sufficient to make her rival Pisa
embrace the cause of the Emperor. The Pisans in a
short space of time equipped forty galleys, which were
reinforced by twenty-seven Sicilian ships, and they sent
an embassy to Genoa to give warning that they would
oppose the voyage of the Genoese fleet. Their vessels
held the sea between Pisa and Corsica. The Genoese
fleet was inferior in numbers, but their admiral con-

WAR WITH THE LOMBARDS 289

sidered that honour required him to force a passage
instead of seeking to avoid his enemies by the longer
route round Corsica. The hostile squadrons met between
the two islands of Giglio and Monte Cristo.* The defeat
of the Genoese was complete. Only five of their ships
escaped ; three sank with all their crews ; the rest, twenty-
two in number, fell into the hands of the Pisans. Two
thousand Genoese perished; four thousand were cap-
tured, along with a hundred leading ecclesiastics. Two
Cardinals, three Archbishops — amongst them the Arch-
bishop of Milan — ^and the deputies of the Lombard cities,
as well as numerous other prelates, were among the
prisoners. It is said that they were first confined, bound
with chains of silver, in the Baptistery of Pisa, then they
were sent to dungeons in various parts of Apulia.

To add to the favourable aspect of Frederick's affairs,
dissensions had again broken out between nobles and
people in Milan. The latter refused to take the field to
repel an inroad of the Pavesans. Not until the nobles,
who had attempted alone to drive back the enemy, had
been overpowered by superior forces did patriotism pre-
vail over party spirit. But nobles and people together
were defeated with loss by the Pavesans a few days after
the naval victory of the Pisans.

Frederick was disposed to look on the triumph of his
arms, and the destruction of the Pope's plan for a General
Council, as evident signs that Heaven upheld his cause.
The news of the Pisan success caused a sudden change
in his plans. He had intended, and wisely, to secure his
hold on Romagna by attempting the conquest of Bologna,
after Milan the leading city of the League. Now he
determined once more to defer the subjugation of Lom-
bardy, and to finish once for all with Gregory, whose
stubborn spirit, he hoped, had been conquered by the
late blows to his cause. He marched on Rome. The
neighbouring towns had submitted; the Colonna had
received him into their castles ; the powerful family of

■ This battle is often, but improperly, called the Battle of Meloria,
from the shoal near Leghorn, where fifty years later the sea power
of Pisa was finally destroyed by the Genoese.

200 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

the Frangipani had declared for him ; and Rome^ cat off
from all help, seemed a certain prey, when Gregory,
worn out more by his forced sojourn in the city during
the unhealthy season than by the weight of his years,
sickened and died*

His character is, perhaps, best displayed in an extract
from a letter written a few weeks before his death. '' Do
not let yourselves be alarmed by the changeable appear-
ance of the present time ; do not l>e terrified in adversity,
do not be filled with pride in prosperity ; but trust in
God, patiently enduring His trials. The bark of Peter is
sometimes tossed here and there by contrary winds and
driven towards the rocks, but soon it is seen again, con-
trary to all expectations, issuing from the foaming waves
and riding over the surface of a tranquil sea."

True to his contention that he was at war, not with the
Church, but with the Pope, Frederick retired from before
Rome to allow undisturbed freedom of election to the
Cardinals. Their choice fell on a Milanese, already
advanced in years, who took the name of Celestine IV.,
but who died after less than three weeks' reign. The
Romans, to hurry this election, had shut up the Cardinals
in close confinement among the ruins on the Palatine
hill ; now, to escape similar treatment, the Princes of
the Church fled from the city, and nearly two years
elapsed before they could unite in choosing a new
Pontiff.

Thus freed from Papal opposition, the Emperor might
fairly look forward to a speedy triumph over the Lom-
bards. Unfortunately at this moment Germany and all
Christendom were threatened with destruction by an
inroad of barbarians from Asia. The Mongol Tartars,
obeying the orders of the successor of Genghis Khan,
who ruled at Pekin, had poured like some devastating
flood on the West. Russia, Poland, Hungary, and
Bohemia had gone down before the torrent ; the
German princes called urgently for help, and Frederick,
believing that the affairs of Italy were now in a less
critical position, sent four thousand cavalry and a strong
body of infantry to the help of his subjects north of the

WAR WITH THE LOMBARDS 291

Alps. The walls of the German cities and the stout
hearts of the defenders drove back the wild horsemen
of the steppes, but in the meantime the chance of
crushing the Lombards had been lost.

Frederick did not feel himself strong enough, after the
despatch of such a large force to the help of the Germans,
to attempt operations on a large scale in Lombardy. An
attack on Genoa, following up the defeat of that city on
the sea, seemed to promise more success. Already, before
the battle. Imperial commanders had invaded the terri-
tories of the Commune. One body, led by Oberto
Pelavicini, from Lombardy, had entered the eastern dis-
tricts. Helped by the Malaspina and other nobles of the
Lunigiana, and by contingents from Tuscany, he cap-
tured several castles among the mountains and penetrated
to the coast. On the other side a great force was
assembled from Pavia, Tortona, Alessandria, Vercelli,
Alba, and Acqui. The Marquis of Montferrat and the
lesser feudal lords, who still kept their independence in
the Ligurian mountains, the Marquises of Ceva, Carretto,
and Bosco joined it. Savona, next to Genoa the largest
town on the Ligurian coast, revolted from that city;
Albenga, Finale, and most of the western Riviera fol-
lowed its example. Then came Frederick's fleet under
a Genoese exile, Anselmo de' Mari, and attacked Noli,
which still remained faithful to the republic.

The Genoese did not lose courage amidst danger from
so many sides. A letter to the Pope, written after the
destruction of their fleet, runs in this strain: "Let your
Holiness know that the citizens of Genoa consider as
nothing the loss they have suffered in this battle ; but,
abandoning all other business, they are working without
ceasing to build and arm new vessels. Therefore we
beg your Holiness, on our knees, in the name of the
blood of that Jesus whom you represent on earth, not
to attach too much importance to the misfortune which
has just befallen us, and not to abandon the noble cause
which you have determined up to now to defend."

They devoted all their energies to fitting out a new fleet,
and were soon able to put to sea in such superior

202 THE LOMBARD COlfMUNES

numbers^ that the Imperial admiral had to raise the
siege of Noli. While the Genoese were engaged in
repairing the fortifications there, Anselmo directed a
dsuring stroke against Genoa itself. He boldly sailed
into the harbour, and destroyed or plundered the
defenceless merchant ships and quays. Then, as the
Genoa hastened back to their city, he circled round
their fleet, and established himself at Savona. Next
spring eighty-three galle3rs issued from Genoa to drive
the enemy from the Ligurian coast. They could accom-
plish nothing against Anselmo's rapid movements. First,
aided by a Pisan fleet, he attacked the eastern Riviera.
When the Genoese approached he made again for
Savona ; then, doubling on his pursuers, he once more
threatened Genoa ; then he led on his opponents in
a vain chase as far as the shores of Provence.

From here he withdrew, by way of Corsica, to the
Apulian coast. The Genoese hoped that the campaign
was over for the year, when they heard that he had
again reappeared at Savona. On land the Genoese had
more success, for the rugged country put countless
obstacles in the way of the invading armies. Early in
1243 the dexterous use of Genoese gold detached the
Marquises of Ceva, Carretto, and Montferrat from the
Imperial cause ; and the latter promised to bar the
road against any -fresh' invasion of Liguria on the west.
Perhaps even a greater blow to Frederick was the
defection of Novara and Vercelli, which once more
re-entered the League.

The war in Liguria was now centred round Savona,
which was besieged for several months, and defended
with great courage by the burghers. A relieving force
from Pavia, Alessandria, and other Communes could not
force its way through the mountains ; but the city held
out against all assaults, until the approach of a great
Pisan fleet numbering eighty galleys caused the besiegers
to retreat. The Pisans sailed to Genoa, and shot arrows
of silver as a mark of derision into the town. Joined with
fifty-five Sicilian ships, they now held the mastery of
the sea, and Savona and Albenga persisted in their

The Keep.

SOAVB.

To fact page apa.

WAR WITH THE LOMBARDS 293

revolt against Genoa during the rest of Frederick's
reign.

The war in Lombardy had degenerated into isolated
raids of Cremona on Brescia and Piacenza, of Mantua
against Verona, of Ezzelino against Treviso and Este.
The natural result was widespread misery. " Lombardy/'
says Fr^ Salimbene, was reduced to such a solitude
that neither cultivators of the fields nor travellers were
to be found therein. Men could neither plough, nor
sow, nor reap, nor gather in the vintage, nor dwell in
the farms. However, near the cities men ploughed under
a guard of soldiers. And this one had to do on account
of the thieves and highwaymen who had multiplied
beyond all measure. And they took people and led
them away to prison until they redeemed themselves
for money. And so, at that time, one man would meet
another on the way as gladly as he would see the
devil."

It was probably due to mutual exhaustion that Pavia
and Milan concluded a peace, or rather truce, in 1241 ;
for we hear that the space between the two cities
resembled more ''the abode of wild beasts than a
cultivated land." Frederick must have allowed the
Pavesans thus to seek security on one frontier ; for
we next hear of them as active in the attacks on Genoa.
Como then took the place of Pavia as the chief opponent
of Milan, and the region round the Lombard lakes
became, in its turn, a scene of widespread desolation.

Ezzelino, though unable to subdue Treviso, was
steadily improving his position in the Mark. Montag-
nana, a large town belonging to the Marquis of Este,
fell into his hands, and the chief of the disaffected
nobles of Vicenza made their peace with him. Far more
important was the capture of the castle of San Bonifazio.
Up till now it had defied all the attacks of the Veronese,
to whose city it was a standing menace ; but the
garrison, closely blockaded, and cut off from all
communication with Mkntua, was forced to capitulate
in the autumn of 1243. The exultant people of Verona
destroyed the hated stronghold so thoroughly that now

204 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

no vestige of it remains. At the same time the severity
of Ezzelino's rule kept increasing. The massive prisons
which he built in Padua were filled with victims of his
suspicions. Many of the leading citizens perished on
the scaffold, or amidst tortures. Even in Verona, where
the mass of the people had been won over to his rule
by their admission to the public offices, he detected,
or pretended to detect, conspiracies among the nobles.
The suspected persons paid with their lives, and a fresh
demolition took place of towers and palaces.

It was not until June, 1243, that the Cardinals could
agree as to the choice of a new Pope. Frederick had
addressed letters to them, urging on the election, and
couched in the most violent terms. Serpents, animals
without a head, sons of Ephraim, sons of Belial, were
some of his epithets. He followed up his words with
a new advance to the walls of Rome, in the course of
which his Saracen troops committed unheard-of cruelties
at the capture of Albano. This brought the Cardinals
to compliance with the wishes of the Christian world.
They begged the Emperor to retire, promising a speedy
election ; he consented, and their choice fell on the
Genoese Sinibaldo dei Fieschi, who took the name of
Innocent IV.

The new Pope belonged to one of the most illustrious
of the noble families of the Riviera who had been
forced to become citizens of Genoa. The Fieschi,
Counts of Lavagna, with three other noble houses, alone
possessed the privilege of adorning their palaces vrith
the alternate rows of black and white marble which, with
this exception, could only be employed in the churches
and public buildings. According to an English writer,
he was one of those determined characters in which
the Ligurian coast has always been so fertile ; men
who proceed, in spite of all obstacles, towards the
goal which they have set for themselves — ^men of /the
stamp of Garibaldi and Columbus.

He was a personal friend of the Emperor, to whose
party his family had hitherto inclined; but Frederick
knew too well his stern sense of duty to be blind to

WAR WITH THE LOMBARDS 295

the fact that personal friendship would not prevail with
him over what he might conceive to be the interests
of the Church. "I have lost a good friend/' said
Frederick on hearing of the election, "for no Pope
can be a Ghibelline." * However, he affected to share
in the general joy over the end of the long interregnum,
ordered the Te Deum to be sung throughout the kingdom,
and sent letters to Germany to announce the approaching
reconciliation of Pope and Emperor.

Negotiations for peace were begun at once. They
broke down over the question of the Lombards.
Frederick, ready enough to make concessions in other
matters, refused to allow the pontiff to interfere between
him and his rebellious subjects ; and Innocent, on his
part, declared he would accept no peace with the
Emperor in which the League was not included.

The sudden revolt of Viterbo from the Imperial
side increased the tension between the two parties.
Frederick, seeing in the devotion of Viterbo a constant
menace to Rome, had given the burghers many signal
marks of favour, protected their markets, and built
there a sumptuous palace, as if designing to make it
the capital of Italy. The Governors sent there in his
name had unfortunately excited discontent by oppressive
conduct ; and a new Bishop hostile to the Emperor,
taking advantage of this discontent, entered the city
suddenly at the head of an armed force, won the
townsmen over to his side, and besieged the German
garrison in the castle.

Innocent at once took the city under his protection,
and the Romans sent help to the burghers, their former
enemies. The Emperor hurried to the spot with an army,
and another siege began, to be compared both for its
obstinacy and its result with that of Brescia. Two furious
assaults were repulsed, and the besieged, issuing from
the walls by means of underground passages during

' This sentence in its actual form is not likely to have been
pronounced by the Emperor, for the word Ghibelline would not
have been used by him to describe his party. The first part
of the remark^ however, is probably genuine.

296 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

the second attack, set fire to the machines and drove
Frederick's force back to their camp with heavy loss. The
Emperor, shaken by this disaster, retired from the city.

In spite of this, negotiations still went on ; and early
in 1244 the basis of a treaty was agreed on at Rome and
sworn to by Frederick's plenipotentiaries. But new
difficulties at once arose. The League was not mentioned
in the treaty ; and the contracting parties would come to
no agreement as to the order in which the respective
stipulations were to be carried out. Negotiations began
again, and were cut short in a dramatic fashion. The
news suddenly spread that the Pope had disappeared from
Sutri, to which town he had gone under the pretext of
being nearer to the Emperor, who was then at Pisa.
Then came tidings that riding through the night, disguised
as a soldier, he had reached Civita Vecchia, where a
Genoese fleet of twenty-two vessels, which had been fitted
out and despatched with the greatest secrecy, awaited
him. The Pope reached the harbour at dawn, and the
fleet, only waiting for the arrival of some of his following,
who had been unable to keep up with pontiff, set sail for
Genoa. It was under the command of the Podesta,
who had planned the whole enterprise in concert with
Innocent; and it carried three of the Pope's nephews
and a strong force of chosen seamen and soldiers. In
spite of a furious storm the fleet reached Genoa in safety,
undisturbed by the Pisans, who had no inkling of its
passage by their shores.

The Genoese received the Pope with transports of joy.
He gave out that his flight had been caused by the know-
ledge that a plot had been laid to capture him, and that a
force of German cavalry had been despatched to seize
him at Sutri. " The wicked flee when no man pursueth "
was Frederick's comment on his flight. In fact, it seems
certain that the Genoese fleet had been summoned to Civita
Vecchia long before the movement of the German cavalry
towards Sutri. Innocent had clearly seen the dangers to
which he would be exposed at Rome, and had deter-
mined by a bold stroke to put himself beyond the limits
of Frederick's power.

WAR WITH THE LOMBARDS 297

After a three months' stay in Genoa, the Pope set out
for Lyons, a city nominally forming part of the Empire,
but practically as free as Milan, and well disposed to him.
Here he was close to the dominions of the King of France,
to which he could easily betake himself if danger threat-
ened from Frederick ; and the central position of the city,
equally convenient for the prelates of Spain, England,
and Germany, made it particularly suitable for the place
of assembly of the General Council, which Innocent
summoned to meet him in June, 1245.

He chose the route over the Mont C^nis, rather than
again expose himself to the dangers and discomforts of
the sea. He traversed the lands of the Marquises of
Carretto and those of Asti, Montferrat, and Savoy. The
party of the Church was now predominant to the west
of the Ticino. Alessandria had already re-entered the
League; Asti, which had up to^ now supported the
Emperor, did not venture to keep the sick pontiff outside
her walls, and seems then to have been won over to his
side. A more serious defection from Frederick was that
of the Count of Savoy, who gave Innocent a free passage
through his lands on both sides of the Alps. As soon as
he had reached Lyons the Pope renewed the excom-
munication against Frederick, without waiting for the
assembly of the Council which was to give the final
verdict in the quarrel.

The Council began its sessions in June. The Pope
himself appeared in the rSle of accuser. He denounced
in scathing terms Frederick's conduct, his oppression of
the Church in Sicily and Apulia, his harsh treatment of
the prelates captured on the Genoese fleet, his perfidy, his
unbelief, his scandalous life, resembling that of a Maho-
metan rather than of a Christian prince. The Emperor's
cause was defended with skill by the learned and eloquent
Taddeo of Suessa. Frederick had advanced to Turin,
the Italian city nearest to Lyons ; and it was now decided
to allow him the space of twelve days in which to appear
before the Council and justify himself. He refused, not
unnaturally, to trust himself among so many enemies. At
the end of the twelve days, a time too short for a messen-

208 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

ger to go and return between Lyons and Turin, the Pope,
in spite of a farther appeal from Taddeo, pronounced the
final sentence. The Emperor was solemnly deposed, his
subjects released from their allegiance, the German
princes ordered to iproceed to a new election, all sup-
porters of Frederick excommunicated.

At the end, amidst the terror and astonishment of all
who witnessed the ceremony, the Pope and all the pre-
lates reversed and extinguished against the ground the
torches which they had been holding, a symbol of the
extinction of the Imperial glory.

Frederick's journey to Turin had at least had the
advantage of reviving his authority in Piedmont. The
Marquises of Montferrat, Carretto, and Ceva again re-
joined his party ; the burghers of Alessandria brought
him the keys of their city ; Asti and the Count of Savoy
returned to their allegiance.

In the autumn Frederick turned his arms against the
Milanese. He himself with the forces of Pavia and
Piedmont advanced into their territory from the west
The Milanese, aided by some cavalry from Piacenza and
five hundred Genoese cross^bowmen, made such skilful
use of the rivers which intersect their territory, that
Frederick could neither draw them to a pitched battle
nor force his way towards the city. In the meantime
King Enzio, with the levies of Parma, Reggio, Cremona,
Lodi, and Bergamo, had attacked from the east. He had
crossed the Adda and captured Gorgonzola, distant only
a few miles from Milan, when his farther progress was
checked by the men of two of the " gates " or quarters of
the city, sent back in haste from the main camp, along
with the Genoese. In the battle which followed Enzio
was unhorsed and captured. He was released, however,
by the charge, it would appear, of the men of Parma and
Reggio, though the Milanese asserted that they had freed
him on his swearing never again to enter their lands.
Neither side could claim a victory ; but the fight stopped
Enzio's advance, and shortly stfterwards the Imperial
forces withdrew from the Milanese to their own homes.
This was the last attempt of Frederick to crush the
metropolis of Lombardy.

WAR WITH THE LOMBARDS 299

After ten years of war the Emperor's cause was on the
whole in the ascendant in Italy, All Romagna obeyed
him, so did most of the Mark of Ancona, In Umbria,
Penigia, Assisi, Orvieto, and Todi formed a powerful
party opposed to him, but most of the other Communes
had gone over to him, compelled by force or of their own
free will. Rome and many of the small towns round
about were hostile to him, but in 1246 Viterbo again
joined his party. Of the Tuscan cities, Siena, Arezzo, and
above all Pisa were active in his cause ; Lucca, though at
variance with Pisa, does not seem to have opposed him.
Florence had for years been torn by the dissensions of
the Uberti and Buondedmonti, which had divided the
nobles into two hostile camps. Both parties, however,
had been obedient to Frederick, and had sent help to him
at the siege of Faenza. At last the Uberti, two or three
years after the Council at Lyons, obtained the active sup-
port of the Emperor's son, Frederick of Antioch, and
brought the city over decidedly to the Ghibelline party.

Even in Lombardy the majority of the Communes
were on his side. The main strength of his opponents
was formed by Milan, Brescia, and Piacenza, with the
lesser cities Crema, Novara, and Vercelli. In the east
Bologna, Ferrara and Mantua formed a second hostile
group ; and finally Treviso, isolated from all allies, still
held her ground, under Alberic da Romano, against all
the attacks of Ezzelino.

Yet the very extent of country under Frederick's rule
made it difficult for him to establish his authority on a
firm basis anywhere. The fire of ret>ellion, stamped
down in one district, was likely to spring up again in
another from which, for the moment, the Imperial forces
had been withdrawn. The spirit of faction had taken
root everywhere, and everywhere the weaker faction was
disposed to seek help from the enemies of the Commune.
We have seen that some of the Brescian nobles took part
in the siege of their city under Frederick's banner. At a
later period a faction called the Malisardi handed over
several important castles to the Cremonese. If the erst-
while weaker party succeeded, with outside help, in getting

300 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

the upper hand, forthwith it brought the Commune over
to the opposite side in the great struggle which had in-
volved all the cities. It is by the predominance within
the walls, now of one party, now of another, that we must
explain the frequent changes of side of cities such as
Alessandria, Ravenna, or Vercelli.

The verdict of the Council of Lyons gave a new
weapon to all the disa£Fected parties in the Ghibelline
cities. The thunders of the Church could not fail in the
long run to a£Fect the minds of the more timorous or the
more scrupulous. The mendicant orders had become
the most effective champions of the Papacy. They were
to be found everywhere, in spite of the obstacles thrown
in their way by Frederick, denouncing the supporters of
the Emperor, dilating on his evil life, pointing out the
fatal consequences in the next world of resistance to the
Church in this. Ezzelino, we are told, '^ feared the Friars
Minor more than any other persons in the world."'
Their arguments could be reinforced in the case of
the merchant classes by very practical examples of the
dangers even in this world of disobedience to the Church.
The Pope, having the ear of the Transalpine peoples,
could shut out the merchants of the offending cities from
the markets, cause their goods to be seized, empower
their creditors to refuse payment. So we find in the next
few years signs of the growth of a Guelf, or Papal, party
even in cities such as Cremona, which had hitherto been
entirely devoted to Frederick.

The three Emilian cities which were among the most
active supporters of the Emperor had hitherto been
singularly free from internal strife. In the year 1244,
however, a rising of the trades guilds took place in
Parma. They demanded a larger share in the govern-
ment of the city, and chose as a leader a nephew of the
Pope's, whom they raised to the new office of Captain of
the People. Three of the Pope's sisters and one of his
nieces had married into some of the chief noble families
in Parma ; and these families, taking advantage of the
disturbed state of the city, organised themselves into a
' Rolandino, cited by Leo, p. 308, vol iL

WAR WITH THE LOMBARDS 301

Guelf faction with the design of making themselves
masters of the Commune. The plot was discovered,
and the Pope's relatives, the Lupi, Rossi, San Vitale, and
Correggeschi, with their supporters, were driven out, and
their houses destroyed. The exiles retired to Reggio.

This expulsion took place in 1245, and the exiles found
similar disorders in Reggio. Here the great noble house
of the Sessi had murdered the Podesta of the merchants
in 1244 during an expedition against a neighbouring
castle. This naturally led to tumults against the Sessi,
and seems to have been used as a pretext for attacking
them by some of their private enemies. In January, 1245,
the two parties fought in the Piazza ; in the following
summer the Fogliani (also relations of the Pope), the
Roberti, the Lupicini (kinsmen of the murdered Podest^)
joined in another attack on the Sessi. Some of their
friends from outside the walls burst in through one of the
gates, and the whole city was given over to street fighting.
Enzio hurried to the spot, and drove the opponents of
the Sessi, some twenty families in all, from the city, along
with the exiles from Parma.

The year 1246 was marked by no important events in
Lombardy. In the next year the Emperor once more
visited Turin ; and it was supposed that he was meditat-
ing an attack on the Pope at Lyons, when news was
brought to him of the sudden revolt of Parma.

The exiles from Parma had gathered to the number of
about seventy knights at Piacenza, from which they
threatened the border districts of their own city. They
learned that many of the best knights of Parma had gone
with King Enzio to besiege a Brescian castle, and that
the captain of the German garrison in the city was
occupied in celebrating the marriage of his daughter.
They resolved to strike a sudden blow at the city itself.
Advancing with the greatest secrecy, they had almost
reached the walls before news of their approach came
to the ears of the Governor. He hurried out with such
of the nobles as he could muster, and with those of the
Germans whom the festivities had left sufficiently sober
to fight. Almost at the first onset the Podest^ the poet

302 THE LOICBARD COMMUNES

Arrigo Testa of Arezzo, was slain, the Imperial Governor
wounded^ and his troops scattered. The Germans are
said to have made no farther resistance, but to have
called out to the exiles that they might go on and seize
the town. The leading supporters of the Emperor, find-
ing that they could not rouse the artisans, who remained
undisturbed at their looms, in spite of the advance of the
enemy, quitted the city, and shut themselves up in their
castles in the Contado.

The exiles entered the gates unmolested, and the mass
of the citizens, by one of those sudden changes so common
in the history of the Italians, at once embraced their party.
Enzio hurried back from the Brescian territory, but failed
to seize the crucial moment and to attack before Parma
had thoroughly accepted the new rigitm. The Lombard
forces hurried from all sides to secure their hold on this
important acquisition. Three hundred horse came from
Piacenza; the exiles from Reggio and other Ghibelline
Communes flocked there; the Papal legate brought a
thousand lances from Milan. Feverish efforts were made
to provision the city and to put the walls in a proper
state for defence.

The loss of this great and wealthy city — it could muster
one thousand burghers nch enough to serve on horse^
back — was a heavy blow to Frederick. Parma com-
manded the road leading by Pontremoli into Tuscany,
which since the loss of Ferrara had been Frederick's
chief means of communication with the centre and south
of the Peninsula. He hurried back from Turin and
gathered his forces from all sides for a siege. His sons
Enzio and Frederick of Antioch, Ezzelino with a strong
force from the cities of the Mark, the Marquis Lancia,
Oberto Pelavicini, Buoso da Doara — in short, all his
leading supporters — ^gathered round him. The Cremonese
came in such numbers that only the old men were left to
guard their walls ; the Pavesans came in force, as well
as contingents from Reggio, Modena, and Bergamo.
Besides these there were Germans and men of Frederick's
southern dominions, and, most formidable of all, a body
of Saracens from Lucera. The chronicler, Fr^ Salimbene

Bologna.
Tomb of Rolandino Passeggibri.

To face page 303-

WAR WITH THE LOMBARDS 303.

of Parma, estimates the total of Frederick's army at
thirty-seven thousand men.

The Guelfs had not been idle. It would seem as if all
the leaders of both parties had gathered to Parma as to a
spot where the long struggle was to be finally decided.
The Count of San Bonifazio had come with the Mantuans;
the Marquis of Este brought a large body of Ferrarese ;
the Genoese sent three hundred cross - bowmen ; the
Fieschi of Lavagna as many. Even Alberic da Romano
and Biachino da Camino had made their way across the
intervening hostile territory to the help of the threatened
city.

Within the walls the energy of the Papal legate,
Montelungo, and of the monks had roused the en*
thusiasm of the mass of the people. They placed
themselves solemnly under the protection of the Blessed
Virgin, and determined to perish under the ruins of their
city rather than surrender. Attacks on the walls were
repulsed, and the damage done by the engines of war
made good by the efforts of the whole population ; but
the weapon on which the Emperor chiefly relied for the
reduction of the city was famine. The Mantuans and
the Ferrarese endeavoured to send food by boat up the
Po. On one occasion they succeeded in introducing a
large supply; on another they were routed and their
flotilla destroyed by the men of Reggio.

Frederick now det^mined to terrify the besieged into
submission. About two hundred of his chief partisans
had left Parma at the time of the revolt, and were now
serving in the Imperial camp. But all other natives of
P^ma had been seized by Frederick's command, wherever
they could be found, and thrown into prison. Their
number amounted to about a thousand, and was made
up of merchants, of soldiers who had been serving as
gsurisons in various places, and of young men, many of
them of the leading families, who had been studying law
at the schools of Modena. ' The Emperor declared that
he would put some of these captives to death every day

* Law schools, under Frederick's patronage, had been opened at
Modena, to compete with those of the Guelf Bologna.

304 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

until the city surrendered. Accordingly two nobles and
two burghers were put to death before the wails. Next
day two more shared the same fate* The infuriated
citizens replied by burning alive on the Piazza several
spies or messengers from the Emperor. Then the men
of Pavia, to their eternal honour, protested against
Frederick's conduct. "We have come to fight," said
they, "not to act as executioners." These courageous
words put a stop to farther cruelties.

The approach of winter led Frederick to dismiss many
of his troops. Many of the allies of Parma, not all of
whom had shut themselves up within the walls, also
returned home, for it seemed unlikely that the siege could
be continued through the cold season. But Frederick,
resolved to be turned aside by no obstacles, caused a new
town to be constructed within four bow shots of the walls,
and on the road leading to Piacenza. It was surrounded
with walls and ditches, and furnished with several gates.
A church and a palace were built ; and the houses were
rapidly constructed from materials brought from the
devastated villages of the Contado. In this town, to
which the proud name of Vittoria was given, Frederick
passed the winter secure against the inclemency of the
weather, while other camps still maintained a close
blockade round the city.

The desperate position of the burghers, more and more
a prey to hunger, gave them courage to strike a bold
blow for safety. One day, when the siege had lasted nearly
six months, the keen eyes of a Milanese watcher on the
walls detected that the Emperor with a large body of
followers had quitted Vittoria He had been ill, and
now, feeling better, had gone hawking along the banks
of the Taro. The garrison of Vittoria, never dreaming of
an attack from the starving townsmen, were keeping but
a careless watch. The sentinel persuaded the legate
and the captains to seize the opportunity, and stake all
their fortunes on a sudden sally. The Milanese, the
Piacentines, the infantry of Mantua attacked the lines on
one side of the city ; the legate himself with the rest of
the garrison rushed out against Vittoria. In front was

WAR WITH THE LOMBARDS 305

borne the standard of the Virgin* Behind followed a
great multitude— old men, women, and children, press-
ing on in one great wave of enthusiasm against the
enemy. The garrison of Vittoria, taken unawares, could
not check the fury of the assault. Once inside the walls
the burghers set fire to some of the wooden buildings ;
the flames spread, the disordered defenders were unable
to re-form their ranks among the burning houses. In a
short time the men of Parma were masters of the city
which was meant to be the symbol of their destruction.
The whole Imperial army was scattered in hopeless rout
before any news of the onslaught could reach the
Emperor. Two thousand of them are said to have
perished; three thousand were captured.

Taddeo da Suessa, who was in temporary command,
was found among the wounded, and was hacked to
pieces by the furious burghers. The Imperial crown, of
wonderful beauty, the sceptre, the seal of the Empire,
the Carroccio of Cremona, called Berta, the contents of
the treasury, and an incalculable amount of booty of all
sorts fell into the hands of the victors.

This disaster — ^the greatest in Frederick's career — ^put
an end to all his hopes of crushing the Lombards. The
war, however, dragged on. In the spring the Emperor
again appeared before Parma, but could not undertake a
siege. Small successes in the field restored his prestige
in some measure. Vercelli again came over to his side.
But he could not subdue the Marquis of Montferrat, who
had taken Turin during the siege of Parma. Novara, too,
which would seem to have once more submitted to him,
re-entered the League in this year.

In the Mark Ezzelino captured Feltre in 1248, and
Belluno and Este in the following year. These successes
could not counterbalance the loss of Romagna. The
Pope had sent to Bologna, as his legate, the Cardinal
Ottaviano degli Ubaldini. Of a great Tuscan Ghibelline
house, this prelate had eagerly embraced the Guelf cause.
He was far more of a warrior than a Churchman ; indeed,
his orthodoxy was so doubtful that he was reported to
have said, '' If there is such a thing as a soul I have lost

306 THB LOMBARD COMMUNES

mine on account of the Ghibellines " ; and Dante has
placed him beside Frederick and Farinata d^li Uberti
in the burning coflFers where the incredulous are punished
in hell : —

"Qua dentro e lo secondo Pederico
£ U Cardinale."-

He induced the Bolognese to oi^anise a great expedi-
tion against Romagna. Imola, Ravenna, Cesena, Forlim-
popoli, Cervia, Bertinoro, and Rimini all submitted and
joined the Guelfs. Faenza, where there was an Imperial
garrison, surrendered after a fortnight's siege.

Then the Bolognese turned against Modena. During
the fifty years in which the two cities had been almost
uninterruptedly at war the valiant burghers of Modena
had obtained more than one striking victory in the open
field. As late as 1239, in conjunction with the men of
Parma, they had routed the Bolognese, capturing two
thousand prisoners. But the superior population and
resources of Bologna were beginning to tell in the long
run. A large part of the Modenese territory had t)een
conquered. During the siege of Parma the family of the
Rangoni had left the Emperor's camp and started a
Guelf faction in Modena. They and their followers, to
whom the name of Aigoni was given, had been driven
from Modena ; but the Bolognese had established them
in the castle of Savignano, not far from the city.

The Bolognese, under the leadership of the Cardinal,
advanced towards Modena. Their army consisted of a
thousand horse from the nobles, the men of three out
of the four quarters of the city, the contingents of
Mantua and of the towns of Romagna, and three thou-
sand horse and two thousand foot, sent by the Marquis
of Este. King Enzio led out the Modenese against their
enemies. With him were Germans and Apulians, the
exiles of Parma and Piacenza, and auxiliaries from
Cremona, Reggio, and Pavia. The two armies met at
Fossalta. After a long and desperate battle the superior
numbers of the Bolognese army prevailed. The Mode*
» " Inf eroo," Canto X.

WAR WITH THE LOMBARDS 307

nese line was broken, and their army scattered in flight.
Enzio and his chief captains, trying in vain to restore
order, were captured, along with more than sixteen
hundred others.

The victors re-entered Bologna in triumph. The
young king, only twenty-four years of age, excited
universal admiration by his personal beauty, his curling
yellow locks falling to his waist, his courage and his
talents as a leader. The Senate of Bologna determined
that such an enemy should never be let free to take
revenge for this defeat. He was treated with all possible
honour, but a law was passed forbidding his release.
In spite of the promises and the threats of Frederick, the
Bolognese remained constant in this resolution. Enzio
passed the remaining twenty-two years of his life con-
fined in a sumptuous suite of rooms in the palace of the
Podesta, where he was visited every day by the chief
nobles of the city, who endeavoured to solace his cap-
tivity by every means in their power. He died still a
Captive, young in years, but the last survivor of the
House of Hohenstaufen.

In September the Bolognese laid siege to Modena.
The burghers defended themselves stoutly behind their
walls. To draw them out into the open the Bolognese
shot from one of their catapults the dead body of an ass,
shod with silver — 3, most deadly insult according to the
ideas of the time. The carcass landed in the basin of
the chief fountain in the town. This so infuriated the
Modenese that they made a vigorous sortie, threw the
besiegers into confusion, and destroyed the machine from
which the insulting missile had come. Enough had now
been done for honour ; so, seeing no chance of help
from the Emperor, Modena negotiated for peace. This
was easily granted, on condition that the Aigoni should
be readmitted, and that the city should join the Guelfs.
The Bolognese restored their conquests, the legate
reconciled the city with the Church ; and so in January,
1250, Frederick lost one of his most vigorous allies.

Shortly before this Como, equally hard pressed by
Milan, had been forced to re-enter the League. The

306 THE LOMBARD CX>MMUNES

return of Faeiua and Ravenna to Frederick's side in 1248
could not compensate for these losses. One last gleam
of success came to the C^mperor in 1250, when Piacenza,
hitherto one of the pillars of the League, suddenly
came over to his side. This ci^ had been the deadly
foe of Parma for more than sixty years ; and it was
scarcely to be expected that this long-standing hostility
should be blotted out by the accession of Parma to the
Guelf cause. The ruling nobles of Piacenza, however,
putting the interests of party before local patriotism,
had taken a Podesti from Parma ; and this man, during
a time of scarcity, had sent a large supply of grain to his
own city. This excited a tumult among the mass of the
people. They soon got the upper hand, and elected as
Rector of the people Ut)erto de Iniquitate, one of the
banished chiefs of the popular party. He secured the
return of the exiles, amongst whom was the noble family
of De Andito, or I^di. The Guelf nobles left the city,
and Piacenza ranged itself on the side of the Emperor.

The war against Parma was at once renewed. The
combined forces of Piacenza and Cremona, under the
Podesta of the latter city, Oberto Pelavicini, the chief
Ghibelline leader in Central Lombardy, gained a great
victory under the very walls of Parma. Besides those
who perished in the fight great numbers of the Par-
mesans were drowned in the ditches of the city, which
itself very nearly fell into the hands of the victors. The
Cremonese might think their rout at Vittoria well
avenged, for they brought home in triumph fifteen
hundred prisoners and the Carroccio of Parma, called
Blancardo.

But this success came too late to be of use to the
Imperial cause. Frederick had practically abandoned
the war in Lombardy, and, retiring to the south, tried,
but in vain, to induce Innocent to agree to terms of
peace. Worn out before his time, perhaps as much
by his continual misfortunes as by his excesses, he died
in Apulia in December, 1250.'

■ The Archbishop of Palermo reconciled him with the Church on
his deathbed and icave him the sacraments.

WAR WTTH THE LOMBARDS 309

All possibility of reviving the authority of the Empire
in Italy came to an end with Frederick's death. For
sixty years, except for the short visit of his son and
successor, Conrad, Italy was free from any semblance
of German control. In Germany the Imperial authority
never recovered the ground it had lost during his reign.
In order to win support for his Italian projects Frederick
had been forced to make concessions to the German
feudatories, which practically destroyed the prerogatives
of the Emperor.' After Conrad's death, in 1254, until
the election of Rudolf of Habsburg, there is a period
of almost twenty years during which there was no
recognised sovereign of Germany. When at last the
interregnum came to an end, the monarchy of the
Hohenstaufens had become a federation of practically
independent princes, who left little to their nominal
superior beyond the empty title of Caesar.

But the struggle between Frederick and the Second
Lombard League had been disastrous for the Communes
also. To make head against enemies without and factions
within, the cities had been inevitably compelled to put
the supreme direction of affairs in the hands of a single
individual. Ambitious feudal nobles or able demagogues
were not slow to seize on the chance thus offered them
of establishing a despotic rule in the communities over
whose destinies they had gained control. We have seen
Verona and Ferrara yielding themselves to a master in
order to make head against their enemies.

The other cities were not slow to follow on the same
path. The rest of our history will show how one and all,
a prey to internal faction, and engulphed in the conflict
of Guelfs and Ghibellines — which divided all Italy into
two hostile camps — the Communes lost the liberties for
which they had struggled so hard, and sank under the
yoke of the despot.

' One should not omit to mention that in the years after the
Council of Lyons the Pope had stirred up revolts in Germany, which
prevented Frederick from getting any considerable support from
that country, and seriously crippled him in his campaigns against
the Lombards.

CHAPTER XI

THE PALL OP EZZELINO— THE CAREER OP OBERTO
PELAVICINI

With the death of Frederick, and the eclipse of the

authority of the Empire which followed, it seemed as if

the free cities had definitely triumphed in Lombardy.

Once more, as after the Peace of Constance, we might

have looked for the establishment of a federation of

which the germ already existed in the Lombard League.

But now, even more than in the days of Barbarossa,

anything more than a temporary union was rendered

impossible by the rivalry between city and city, and

by internal dissensions. The whole of Italy had ranged

itself into two hostile camps during the struggle between

Frederick and the Papacy, and the internal factions,

checked in the first stress of the war, had sprung up

again and grafted themselves on to these great parties.

In one city the nobles, in another the people had

embraced the cause of the Empire ; in yet another

rival noble families had sought to strengthen themselves

by declaring for one or the other side in the quarrel.

The violence of faction had increased during the later

days of Frederick's reign ; the factions themselves

remained after his death. But they were no longer

mere detached quarrels in one particular city. Each

party had allies outside the walls, and could invoke the

help of one-half of Lombardy in the name of the Empire

or the Papacy.

The factions survived Frederick's death. To the

struggle between the Empire and the League with its

ally the Papacy succeeds that between Guelf and

sio

THE FALL OF EZZELINO 311

Ghibelline. These factions arose from the blending
of the greater quarrel with the rivalry between city and
city, and still more with the party struggles within the
walls. All menace from the side of Germany to the
freedom of the Communes had disappeared* Yet the
warfare in Lombardy still went on, and the quarrel of
Guelf and Ghibelline — upholders in theory of principles
already dead^-<:ontinued, and attained its maximum
development at a time when the contest between Pope
and Emperor had apparently reached its close.

The history of Lombardy for the next fifty or sixty
years is made up of a confused and often ferocious struggle
between city and city, between party and party, of an
endless shifting of the balance of power and of the
grouping of the Communes, as now fortune sways to
the side of the Guelfs, now to the side of the Ghibellines.
The final result of this tangle of strife is the total dis-
appearance from Lombardy of republican institutions
and the rise of a new form of government, the rule of
the Despot.

A salient feature in the history of the Communes
during the second half of the thirteenth century is the
increasing violence of factions within the walls. We
have already traced the origin of these dissensions in
various cities. The struggles between rival communities,
and above all the great conflict between Frederick IL
and the League, to a certain extent had checked internal
strife. But we have seen how some years before the
Emperor's death factions had shown themselves again,
and had even arisen in cities such as Parma, which up
to then had been free from such troubles." On his death
civic discord broke out afresh, and with more violence
than ever now that all danger from outside was removed.
It was augmented by the steady growth of the importance
of the popolo.

The mass of the people were increasing in numbers
and wealth, in spite of the constant warfare. The
members of the trades guilds contributed more and more

' Also in Cremona, which, except for a few years in the early part
of the century, had been free from internal strife.

312 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

to the revenue of the Commune ; and it was but natural
that, as time went on, they should demand a greater share
in the government.

We have already seen the beginnings of the struggle
between the middle classes and the ruling aristocracy.
The latter had held their ground during the years when
the war for or against Frederick II. had taxed the whole
energies of the Communes. But once this conflict was
over, the middle classes, who had borne the brunt of the
struggle, press forward to power in every city. The
aristocracy almost everywhere oppose them vigorously,
but unsuccessfully. The transference of power to the
middle classes is another salient feature in the history of
the fifty years after Frederick's death.

Another characteristic is the blotting out to a great
extent of the old political landmarks. Up to now there
has been something like continuity in the foreign policy
of the towns. Milan and Brescia oppose the Hohen-
staufens, Cremona and Pavia support them. But hence-
forward we find sudden changes in the attitude of the
cities, according as one faction or another gets the upper
hand. So Parma, so long devoted to Frederick, was
seized by a party among the nobles and brought over
to the side of the Church ; almost immediately afterwards
Piacenza, where the nobles had ruled for fourteen years,
passes under the control of the popolo, and abandons
its traditional alliance with Milan. In Milan, where
nobles and people had been equally hostile to the
Emperor, the nobles, expelled from the cities by their
adversaries, openly join the Ghibellines. The nobles
of Pavia, on the other hand, seek aid from the popolo
of Milan and become Guelf. Before long we shall see
Milan Ghibelline and Cremona the bulwark of the
Guelfs ; while other cities, such as Asti and Alessandria,
change sides with bewildering rapidity. We have to
deal now with a tangled strife between Commune and
Commune, between nobles and commons, between rival
noble families, the whole inextricably bound up with
contending theories abut the supremacy of Pope or
Emperor.

THE FALL OP EZZELINO 313

Frederick's death seemed to render the triumph of
Milan and her allies certain. Outside the Mark, where
Ezzelino ruled with practically sovereign power, almost
the only cities north of the Apennines faithful to the
Imperial cause were Cremona, Pavia, Piacenza, Lodi,
Bergamo, Vercelli, and Ivrea. The death of the Emperor
disheartened his supporters. When Innocent, leaving
his retreat at Lyons, re-entered Italy, he was met by
overtures for submission from many of the enemies of
the Church. The Count of Savoy and the Marquis
of Carretto were among the first to be reconciled with
the pontiff ; Albenga and Savona made their peace with
Genoa. Even the Pisans sent to treat for peace; and
neither Pavia nor Lodi made any attempt to hinder the
Pope's journey to Milan.

Lodi was at this time distracted by faction. The
family of the Averganghi headed the nobles ; the popolo
had found leaders in the noble house of the Vistarini.
The former looked for help to Cremona and Pavia, the
latter to Milan. Each faction called its allies to its aid.
After considerable fighting the Milanese party gained the
day ; Succio dei Vistarini, Captain of the People, was
entrusted with its government for ten years, and Lodi
entered into an alliance with Milan. In the same year
(1251) Pavia made peace with her old rival — ^ peace
which, however, was little more than a truce — and the
partisans of the Empire were driven from Asti.

The supporters of the Pope seemed now free to reduce
their few remaining enemies in Central Lombardy, and
to crush the tyrant of the Trevisan Mark. But the union
between the Guelf cities relaxed with the removal of
external dangers. Fresh dissensions broke out in Milan
between the nobles and the people. The efforts of the
Pope, who was alarmed by the arrival in Lombardy
in 1 25 1 of Conrad, son and successor of Frederick, led
to a renewal of the League by eight cities.' But this
league had no immediate results; the nobles in Milan
began to lean towards the Ghibelline party ; and order

' Alessandria, Novara, Milan, Brescia, Mantua, Modena, Fen'ara,
Bologna.

S14 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

was only restored in the Commune by appointing as
Podestii and Captains-General the Marquis Lancia of
Incisa, the uncle of Frederick's natural son Manfred, and
an ardent Ghibelline. He held these posts for three
years ; and his tenure of office would seem to indicate
the predominance of the nobles in the Commune, during
which time the ardour of Milan for the Papal cause
sensibly cooled.

In the meantime the Ghibellines, as we may now once
for all call the supporters of the Hohenstaufens, found
capable leaders. It is remarkable that nearly all the
prominent figures which stand forth during the ensuing
years belong to this party. In the south, Conrad and
Manfred, finding all their efforts for a reconciliation with
the Pope fruitless — ^for Innocent had resolved on the
utter destruction of the Hohenstaufens — ^taxed all the
pontiff's efforts to subdue them. In Central Lombardy
Cremona and Piacenza found in Oberto Pelavicini and
Buoso da Doara leaders of great military capacity, who
not only beat off all attacks on these cities, but, aided
by internal dissensions in other towns, extended their
influence far and wide in Lombardy, and revived or
strengthened the Ghibelline cause in Parma, Como,
T^rtona, and Vercelli. In Parma the disastrous results
of the war with Cremona and Piacenza led to a popular
movement to reconcile the two opposing factions. A
certain Ghiberto da Gente was set up as Podest^ of the
People, and recalled the exiled Ghibellines. He then
made peace with Cremona, and the prisoners who had
languished in the dungeons of diat city since the great
defeat of Parma in 1250 returned home. Out of 1,575
only 318 had survived the rigours of their captivity.
Ghiberto governed the city for the next six years by the
favour of the popolo, with practically despotic power,
and though at first he professed neutrality, he seems to
have ruled as a Ghibelline.

Though Pope Innocent kept urging on the Milanese
and their allies the necessity of prompt action against the
growing power of Pelavicini and the tyranny of Ezzdino,
it was not until 1256 that an army could be got together

THE FALL OF EZZELINO 315

to attack the Mark. Innocent IV. died before this year,
and it was the exhortations of his successor, Alexander IV.,
which finally set this enterprise in motion.

During all the vicissitudes of the past fifteen years
Ezzelino's power had been steadily increasing. Frederick,
sufficiently occupied elsewhere, had given him full con-
trol over the a£Eairs of the Mark, placing under his orders
the Imperial officers sent to administer the various cities.
In time EzzeUno got the appointment of these officers
into his own hands. Instead of Germans or Apulians we
find kinsmen or dependents of the Lord of Romano as
Podest^ of the Communes or Captains of the fortresses.
Ezzelino began to act with more and more independence
of his sovereign. Frederick's death, far from dis-
couraging him, only gave freer scope to his ambitions.
The dream of making himself master of all Lombardy,
independent of any control from beyond the Alps, may
have flashed across his mind.

Besides Feltre and Belluno he had brought Trent
under his power; the town and castle of Este were
captured soon after the conquest of Belluno ; in the year
of Frederick's death Cerro and Calaon, the last fortresses
held by Azzo in the Mark, fell into his hands. But Tre-
viso, under Alberic and the lords of Camino, resisted
him ; so too did Mantua, in spite of repeated devastations
of its territory.

His cruelty increased as the years went by. In the
pages of Maurisio Ezzelino appears to us as a strenuous
and chivalrous party leader, in no way more cruel than
the other leaders of his day. Now he turns into a verit-
able monster, suspicious of all, and filled with an
insatiable lust for blood. The change was a gradual
one; and the chroniclers, especially Rolandino, whose
work was published but a few years after the tyrant's
death, have left us such precise statements about his
actions as must convince us of their truth.

His rule in Verona was, as we have seen, grounded on
the favour of the multitude, and had been secured by
giving the middle classes access to the offices of the
state. But even here blood flowed in streams. The

316 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

smallest suspicion^ the vaguest denunciation, was enough
to bring about the destruction of a whole family.
Among the victims were his former allies, the Mon-
tecchi,> his father-in-law with his sons, and even his
half-brother.

In Vicenza, as in Verona, it was the nobles who had
most to fear from his rule. Here he imprisoned and
mutilated without distinction of age or sex the members
of the family of Pilei, who for fifty years past had played
a great part in Vicenza, sometimes as allies, more often as
opponents, of the House of Romano.

It was in Padua, however, that he gave fullest scope to
his pitiless spirit. He felt that he was hateful to all
classes in this Commune, formerly the bulwark of free-
dom in the Mark. Neither age nor sex was safe from
his fury ; no one was too high placed or too insignificant
to escape his suspicions. The great family of the Dales-
mannini had long bpen ^mong his most ardent sup-
porters. A widow v^ladyj of their house, residing at
Mantua, and therefore quite beyond the influence of her
kinsmen, married a dependent of the Count of San
Bonifazio. At once the Dalesmannini were seized and
put to death. The whole family of the Caponegri was
blotted out, and their fate was shared by many houses of
less note. William of Camposampiero perilled on the
scaffold in 1251 ; all his relations and friends were
seized, and most of them shared the same fate. One, to
escape torture, flung himself from an upper window of
his palace. Besides those of both sexes who perished
by fire or on the scaffold, innumerable victims died
under torture. The children of some of the noblest
Paduan families were blinded or otherwise mutilated.

Ezzelino's nephew, Ansedisio dei Guidotti, to whom
he entrusted the government of P^ua, showed himself,
if possible, more merciless than his uncle. The existing
prison was not large enough to hold the suspects ; he
built two new dungeons, and all three were soon full to
overflowing. Those who were led out to execution
were perhaps more fortunate than those who were left to

» In 1253.

THE PALL OF EZZELINO 317

languish in the noisome cells until hunger and thirst or
disease freed them from their misery.

On one occasion the courage of one of his destined
victims nearly freed the Mark from Ezzelino's tyranny.
Two brothers from Monselice were accused of treason,
and brought to Ezzelino's residence. They began to
protest their innocence with loud cries. The tyrant
heard the noise as he was sitting at table, and came out
to mock them and their despair. Suddenly one of them
flung himself on Ezzelino and bore him to the ground.
Not finding any weapon on his person, he tore his face
with his teeth, and tried to strangle him with his
manacled hands. His brother tried to come to his help,
but was cut down by the guards. Not until they had
literally hacked the assailant to pieces could they succeed
in rescuing the half-strangled Ezzelino.

Soon afterwards an unknown man was arrested as he
was trying to penetrate to the presence of the tyrant.
He was seized and searched, and a dagger was found on
him. Repeatedly put to the torture, no words could be
wrung from him, and he seemed not to understand any
of the languages in which he was addressed. He was
burned alive ; and common fame asserted that he was an
emissary of the Old Man of the Mountains, the head of
the famous eastern sect of the Assassins.

The efiForts of Pope Alexander at length set in motion
a crusade to rid the Mark of the tyrant. The Archbishop
of Ravenna, a prelate whose mode of life was more
suited to the camp than to the Church, was sent to
Ferrara to direct the enterprise. The same indulgences
were promised to all who would join him as were
accorded to those who fought against the Saracens in
the East. The Archbishop found the most eflfectual
help in Venice, a city which could not view without
anxiety the growth of Ezzelino's power in the Mark.

The crusading army landed from the Venetian lagoons
near the mouth of the Brenta. A Venetian noble,
Guistiniani, commanded the contingent of his city;
the Papal banner was entrusted to the young Tisone,
the last survivor of the great house of Camposampiero.

318 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

A whole division was composed of exiled Paduans ;
monks of every order accompanied the host, exciting
enthusiasm by their preaching.

Ezjcelino was engaged in a determined effort to capture
Mantua, and was also hoping to get possession of Brescia
by the help of the nobles, who were, as usual, at war with
the popolo. He did not abandon his enterprise on hear-
ing of the projected attack on Padua. The strong walls,
the difficult country between it and the sea, and the
large mercenary garrison under Ansedisio would, he
considered, be enough to foil all attacks.

But Ansedisio proved himself an incapable general.
He led a force, composed largely of Paduans, to stop
the progress of the invaders ; but so many of these took
the opportunity of deserting that he found it impossible
to risk a battle ; and on the legate making a feint of
marching directly on the city, he hurried back to shut
himself up within the walls. The crusading army then
took, one after the other, the castles between Padua and
the sea, and e£Fected a junction with a second force, led
by the Marquis of Este, from Rovigo. Ansedisio diverted
the course of the Brenta, to prevent the Venetian vessels
from sailing up towards the city ; but the result was that
his enemies passed over the dry bed of the river, and
with little difficulty captured the suburbs. The troops
within the walls offered a valiant resistance to the first
assault. But the monks in the crusading army rushed
forward with a battering-ram under the shelter of a
wooden penthouse, and began to batter the gate of Ponte
Altinate. The defenders hurled flaming pitch and oil on
the machine, and set it on fire. The flame was so great
that the wooden doors of the gateway themselves caught
fire. The assailants, seeing this, fed the flames, and the
doors were consumed. The defence began to slacken ;
the burghers showed signs of rising on the garrison.
Ansedisio lost courage, and fled with his partisans
through the western gate.

The legate and his army entered the city in trium{rfi,
amidst the jubilation of the inhabitants, freed at last from
a slavery which had lasted twenty years. But the

THE PALL OF BZZELINO 319

crusaders had been largely recruited from the dregs of
the population of the neighbouring cities, and, breaking
all the bonds of discipline, they began a horrible sack.
For eight days the miserable city was subjected to the
licence of the unbridled soldiery. Rich and poor alike
were stripped of their possessions. Though but few
were slain, numbers were tortured to compel them to
disclose their riches, and the women were outraged.
The Paduans asked themselves whether they had not
suffered as much in those few days as in all the years of
Ezzelino's tyranny.

At last the legate restored order. The Paduans, in
spite of all their losses, could congratulate themselves on
having recovered their liberty. The interdict which had
so long lain on the city was removed, and the churches
resounded with hymns of joy. From the opened prisons
came forth a miserable multitude. More than a thousand
were found in the three chief prisons,' and there were six
smaller ones, all filled with captives. Men and women
come forth, some blinded, some deprived of a hand or
foot, others without a tongue. Among them were troops
of children deprived of their eyesight, or still more bar-
barously mutilated.

The capture of Padua was followed by the liberation
of Este, Monselice, Cittadella, and the greater part of the
territory of Padua. Then the crusaders advanced to-
wards Vicenza. The long-forgotten Fri Giovanni of
Schio reappears for a moment at the head of the Bolog-
nese contingent. Near Vicenza they were joined by
Alberic and the Trevisans.

Ezzelino had hastened back from Mantua on hearing
that the legate's forces were close to Padua. The first
messenger who announced the loss of the city was
hanged ; Ansedisio, who arrived to confirm the news,
met with no mercy — ^he was executed in Verona. The
army of the crusaders retreated in confusion as soon as
they heard of Ezzelino's approach. The Bolognese set
the example, and withdrew to their own city. The Guelf

' One of these, the famous '< Malta," was in the little town of
CittadeUa. Its ruins still exist

320 THE LOMBARD GOlOfUNES

leaders looked on Alberic with suspicion, and refused
to allow him to enter P^ua ; he retired in anger to
Treviso, and at once opened negotiations with his
brother.

Then Ezzelino advanced to recover Padua. But the
city was so well defended that after three fruitless assaults
he had to retire. After securing Vicenza with a garrison
of Saracens, Germans, and his faithful vassals of Bassano
and Asolo, he withdrew to Verona, meditating a horrid
vengeance on Padua* At the time of the capture of that
city he had in his army the flower of the burgher forces,
numbering, it is said, eleven thousand. He had assem-
bled them without arms in the enclosure of the Church
of Saint George at Verona. Here he surrounded them
with his armed forces, and demanded that all the men
from the village where the legate had first encamped
should be handed over to him for punishment The
trembling multitude pointed these out to him, and they
were led away to prison. Then he demanded in succes-
sion the inhabitants of the first fortress which had sur-
rendered, then those of Cittadella which had first revolted,
then those of the whole remaining Contado. The towns-
men pointed these out, and they were led o£F. Then he
demanded the inhabitants of such and such ^ street, of
such and such a quarter, then all the nobles who re-
mained. In short, the whole multitude was seized in
turn, and lodged in prison without an attempt at resist-
ance. Now on his return to Verona he gave orders to
slay all who had survived the rigours of their captivity.
Of the whole number only two hundred escaped by
some means or other with their lives.'

He then prepared to prosecute the war. He was
completely reconciled, after a quarrel which had lasted
eighteen years, with his brother Alberic, so that he could
now count on the support of Treviso ; and he entered
into a close alliance with Oberto Pelavicini and Buoso da
Doara, who between them ruled Cremona. The next
year, 1257, passed only in unimportant skirmishes and

> It seems impossible to doubt the truth of this story, though the
number of eleven thousand seems entirely incredible.

THE FALL OF EZZELINO 321

raids, varied by bloody executions in Verona and
Treviso.

The legate had gone to Mantua and then to Brescia
in order to compose the dissensions of that city. As
usual nobles and popolo were at feud in Brescia. For
many years past the nobles had formed an association,
called the Malisardi, which had openly sided with
Frederick II. against the Commune. It would appear
that at this moment the nobles had obtained the upper
hand, and that the leaders of the other party were in
prison. Ezzelino had long been endeavouring to induce
the nobles to accept him as their leader, but these feared
such a dangerous ally, and so far had rejected his offers.
Now the legate induced them to make peace with the
popolo and to release the captives. But the quarrel
broke out again almost at once, and this time the nobles
were driven from the city. Forced at last to accept
Ezzelino's overtures, they arranged for a joint attack on
Brescia by Ezzelino and the Cremonese.

The legate had with him a considerable force inside
the walls, under Leonisio, son of Count Rizzardo of San
Bonifazio (who had died in 1254), and Biachino da
Camino. Instead of awaiting attack within the city, he
sallied out to the relief of some beleaguered castles.
The mere junction of Ezzelino with the Cremonese
spread such terror in the Guelf ranks, that they scarcely
offered any resistance when brought face to face with the
enemy. The whole army fled in wild confusion. Four
thousand prisoners fell into the hands of the Ghibellines,
amongst them the Bishop of Verona, the Podestas of
Brescia and Mantua, and the legate himself. Brescia
opened her gates at once to the victors ; the Bishop and
most of the clergy and the leading Guelfs fled, and the
three Ghibelline leaders divided the rule of the city.
Strange to say, Ezzelino treated the captive legate with
respect. He seems to have distinguished between open
enemies and those whom he looked on as domestic
rebels.

The acquisition of Brescia counterbalanced the loss of
Padua. Yet it led ultimately to Ezzelino's downfall. He

322 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

was determined to gain full possession of Brescia. He
therefore tried to stir up strife between his two colleagues
Buoso and Oberto. But each revealed to the other the
proposals of their dreaded ally ; and, no longer feeling
themselves safe, they left the city. Ezzelino at once
assumed the sole government.

In their anger at this treachery Buoso and Oberto
oflFered their alliance to Azzo of Este. The Guelfs and
Ghibellines of Loml>ardy already had b^un to feel that
their interests were not necessarily bound up with the re-
lations between the Papacy and the Empire. The Guelfs
looked to their own immediate aims, which were not
always identical with those of the Papacy. We shall
soon see professed Guelfs in open opposition to the Pope«
The Ghibellines put their own interests before principles,
which, now that there was no Emperor, were in a
measure merely theoretical.

So, although the Pope had expressly forbidden any
peace with Pelavicini, a league was made in June, 1259,
between Cremona and its two chiefs, on one side, and
Azzo of Este, the young Count of San Bonifazio, and the
Communes of Mantua, Perrara, and Padua on the other.
The confederates bound themselves to utterly destroy the
brothers Ezzelino and Alberic, to recognise Manfred as
King of Apulia and Sicily, and to try and reconcile him
with the Church, and to aid Pelavicini to recover Pia-
cenza, from which he had lately been expelled.

The first attack of the confederates was on Brescia,
where Ezzelino himself was, with the flower of his
troops. Far from being dismayed by the confederacy
against him, he was planning a stupendous stroke. It
was nothing less than to gain possession of Milan, as he
had lately seized on Brescia. The dissensions between
the nobles and people in Milan, of which we shall shortly
speak, had lately resulted in the expulsion from the city
of the greater part of the nobles. The exiles, maintaining
themselves in their castles in the Contado, followed the
example of the Brescian nobles and made secret over-
tures to Ezzelino. He promised his help to restore them
in return for the lordship of the city.

THE FALL OF EZZELINO 323

He laid his plan with the utmost skill. As if unwilling
to await the attack of his opponents behind the walls of
Brescia, he moved with his army to attack the town of
Orzinuovi in the territory of Brescia, where Pelavicini
had a garrison. The Cremonese at once brought all
their forces to Soncino on the opposite bank of the
Oglio, as if fearing Ezzelino meant to fall on Crema,
which had lately come into Pelavicini's hands. The
Marquis of Este with the men of Ferrara and Mantua
posted himself at Marcaria on the left bank of the Oglio,
to strike at Ezzelino's communications if he should
cross the Oglio. At the same time the people of Milan
sent out their army under their leader Martino della '
Torre, to co-operate, as had been agreed on, with the
Cremonese.

This latter move was precisely what Ezzelino had been
counting on. As if fearing to be cut off^om Brescia he
gave orders to retreat on that city. The infantry marched
off to Brescia ; but Ezzelino with his cavalry, the most
numerous that had ever been seen in Lombardy, and
amounting, say some, to eight thousand men, rapidly
pushed up the left bank of the Oglio, unmarked by the
enemy. When he had reached Palazzuolo, not far from
where the river issues from Lake Iseo, he crossed
suddenly into the territory of Bergamo, and marched
with the utmost speed straight for Milan.

He had counted on the Cremonese and Milanese
passing the Oglio to pursue him towards Brescia, and
expected to get between the Milanese army and their city.
The nobles had partisans inside the walls, who would
open one of the gates to him, and thus the metropolis
of Lombardy, empty of defenders, would fall into his
hands.

Unluckily for the success of this daring scheme, the
Milanese army had moved more slowly than he had
expected, and was still at Cassano on the right bank of
the Adda. Ther^ were Guelfs among the nobles of
Bergamo, and some of these sent hasty messengers to
Martino della Torre to warn him of Ezzelino's move-
ments. At 'once the Milanese hastened home, and

824 THE LOMBARD COMMUNBS

arrived at Milan before the enemy. The citizens at
once rushed to man the walls, and Ezzelino saw his
whole design frustrated.

With the Milanese nobles who had flocked to join him
he turned north, and assaulted the important town of
Monza. The inhabitants beat him back, and he then
resolved on retreat. A first attempt to recross the Adda
at Trezzo was foiled by the strong castle which com*
roanded the bridge there. Then he turned south to the
bridge at Cassano. An advanced guard of cavalry had
seized the bridge when the Cremonese and the Marquise
of Este came up f rofn the east, and after a severe fight
drove them back.

Ezzelino's situation might well appear desperate. Two
great rivers were between him and his own territories ;
all the bridges and fords of the Adda were guarded ; and
the Milanese army was advancing in his rear. Yet he
showed no signs of discouragement. Only once had his
countenance appeared disturbed. It was when he heard
the name Cassano. An astrologer had warned him that
''•Assano" would be fatal to him.' He had therefore
avoided all places with names ending in these syllables,
and had for years kept away from the original seat of his
power Bassano. He had not gone forward with the
vanguard to seize the bridge, and perhaps it is to his
absence that its loss should be ascribed.

Now, seeing no help for it, he advanced to retake ttie
bridge at all costs. He had almost succeeded when he
was wounded by an arrow, and his discouraged followers
at once began to retreat. Next day, the wound having
been dressed, he rallied his men, and directed them
against a ford higher up the river, giving a passage into
the territory of Bergamo. His forces had barely crossed
when the Cremonese and their allies appeared, and

■ Or it may have been his mother's prophecy which was nrnning
in his mind —

" En quia fata parant lacrymosos pandere casns,
Gentem Marchisiam fratres abolere potentes
Viderit Assantim, conciudent castra Zenonis."

THE FALL OF EZZELINO 325

joined battle. The Milanese appeared in the rear, and
prepared to cross the Adda in pursuit. Ezzelino still
maintained order in his ranks, and might have cut his
way through in spite of the overwhelming numbers of
his adversaries, if it had not been for the sudden defec-
tion of the Brescian cavalry. The nobles of this city had
only allied themselves with him urged by dire neces-
sity. His rule had not decreased their aversion to
him, and now they saw a chance of freeing themselves
from the yoke. They separated from the rest of the
army, and marched off, unhindered by the Cremonese,
to Brescia.

This defection disheartened the remaining troops.
Ezzelino still tried to maintain order, and to fight his
way in the direction of Bergamo. But his ranks were
broken, his best troops slain, and finally, after prodigies
of valour, he was struck from his horse and made prisoner.
The soldiers would have torn him to pieces, and one,
whose brother had been mutilated by his orders, had
ak-eady wounded him on the head with a reaping-hook ;
but Pelavicini and the other leaders rescued him from
their hands.

He was brought to Pelavicini's tent, and treated with
every consideration. But he refused food and medicine,
rejected all the efforts of the monks to reconcile him with
the Church, and, it is said, finally tore the bandages from
his wounds, and so, after eleven days in captivity, died.
He had reached his sixty-sixth year, and had ruled for
twenty-three in Verona.

In EzzeliniO we^ have the first example of those tyrants
such as a Bernabo Visconti or a Galeazzo Maria Sforza,
the storjr of whose inhuman cruelties fills such a large
part of the history of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
But to the thirteenth century, by which the full develop-
ments of tyranny were unsuspected, he was a unique
figure of horror ; and so among all Italian tyrants his
name has a gloomy pre-eminence. A popular legend
declared him to be the son of the devil.

The most striking feature in his career is perhaps the
contrast between his early years, when he appears as a

326 THE LOMBARD COiaCUNES

valiant soldier and an upright if stem ruler, and his later
life, when he became a monster of cruelty. As to the
truth of the atrocities which he committed there can be
no doubt* The Paduan writer Rolandino, not to mention
others, gives us so many specific examples that we cannot
believe them to be inventions.

Leo propounds a curious theory to account for this
change in his chauacter. According to him it was
Ezzelino's love of abstract justice, of order, his hatred of
the anarchy of the time which led to all his excesses. He
looked on himself as the representative of law, and he
treated all who resisted him as rebels against the natural
order of things. He broke down resistance to his will
with a strong hand ; but cruelty only led to more resist-
ance, until finally his hatred to all opposition became
an overmastering impulse which led him to crush without
mercy all whom he merely suspected of disaffection.
To the trembling Paduans he compared himself to a
father who wished to cleanse his house of scorpions,
serpents, and all such noxious reptiles. And, according
to one of the annalists he was wont to say, '^The sins
of the nations require a hand to chastise them, we
are given to the world to exact vengeance for crime."
But crime to him soon came to mean the smallest
opposition to his political designs or his own personal
desires. All feelings of humanity were extinguished
by a wild rage against those who dared to resist his
will.

Yet perhaps it was merely the possession of unlimited
power that was fatal to the balance of his character. He
had many enemies on whom, when once in possession of
Verona and Vicenza, he was able to take vengeance for
injuries done him in the past. His power as representa-
tive of the Emperor was practically absolute. He was
able to punish opposition to himself as treason to the
state. One deed of cruelty led on to another, until in the
end the passion of cruelty overcame every other, and he
became a virtual maniac possessed with a thirst for blood
which ever called for new victims without ever being
satiated.

THE FALL OF EZZELINO 327

The death of the dreaded tyrant caused unbounded
rejoicings in the Mark. Verona recalled the Guelf exiles ;
Belluno and Feltre set up their old form of government.
Trent had already recovered its freedom. The men of
Bassano formed themselves into a Commune under the
suzerainty of Padua. In Vicenza the foreign garrison
held their ground for some time, and even resisted an
attack of the Paduans. But they soon saw their
cause was desperate, and abandoned the city, which
declared that the day on which its liberty had been
restored should be kept as a perpetual feast. The
Venetians joined in the general rejoicings, sounding all
their bells, and illuminating their bell towers.

Alberic soon found his position in Treviso untenable,
and fled with his family and his treasures. He took
refuge in the strong castle of San Zeno, near Asolo,
which Ezzelino had chosen as a last retreat in case of
disaster, and which he had striven by all the means in his
power to make impregnable. Here, with a strong
force of mercenaries, he hoped to be able to resist any
attack.

Alberic's rule in Treviso had been as tyrannical as that
of his brother in the rest of the Mark. It is true that
some contemporary writers only speak of his cruelties,
''blinding children, and hanging monks and priests in
their vestments," aJPter his final breach with the Guelfs.
But others tell us that he had previously exercised the
same severities on the partisans of the Emperor in
Treviso as Ezzelino had used against the supporters of
the Church. Now he imprudently kept the attention of
the Trevisans fixed on him by raids on their lands and
on those of the men of Bassano.

The Great Council of Treviso, after reciting his mis-
deeds, passed the following atrocious sentence. Alberic
and his sons, if ever they fell into the hands of the
Trevisans, were to be dragged at the tails of horses
and then hanged, his wife and daughters were to be
burned alive. They then prepared to attack the castle.
The Paduans, Vicentines, Veronese, the lesser towns of
the Mark, even the Venetians, sent contingents, and

S28 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

the whole force was pot under the command of the
Marquis of Este.

Alberic made a valiant defence. But his chief engineer,
after a three months' siege, opened secret negotiations
with the enemy, and corrupting some of the German
garrison, admitted the assailants within the walls. Alberic,
with his family and some faithful warriors, withdrew into
the great central tower. Here he might still have de-
fended himself were it not that water failed. His last
action was worthy of a better man. He offered his own
life to secure the safety of his family and followers. He
trusted to his kinship and old friendship with Azzo of
Este to gain this concession. But Azzo did nothing to
check the popular fury which demanded the extirpation
of the whole House of Romano. Alberic's followers
went free, but his family found no mercy.

His six sons, the youngest still in the cradle, were cut
to pieces before his eyes, and their remains thrown in his
face; his wife and two beautiful daughters were led
half naked round the camp, then horribly mutilated
and finally burned alive. Alberic, last of all, after wit-
nessing these atrocities, had his flesh torn with hooks,
and then was tied to a horse's tail and dragged to
death.

Treviso, Vicenza, and Padua divided between them
the lands and goods of the fallen house. One member of
the family of Romano still survived. Cunizza, once the
wife of Rizzardo di San Bonifazio, then famed for her
many amorous adventures, long outlived the ruin of her
house. She found a refuge with her mother's family the
Counts Alberti of Mangona, in Tuscany, and with her
kinsmen the Cavalcanti of Florence. Here she passed
her closing years in prayer and works of charity, striving
thus to atone for her early frailties and her brother's
crimes. A curious document drawn up by her in 1265
still survives, by which she frees all the serfs of her family
in the Mark, for the salvation of her own soul and those
of Ezzelino and Alberic, of her mother Adelaide, and of
her father. As all the possessions of her house had been
confiscated and the serfs set free this document must

6
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K
O

M h
> ©

THE FALL OF EZZELINO 329

only be meant as a sign of her forgiveness of those who
had wronged her house.'

The houses of the Cavalcanti were close to those of the
Alighieri. The youthful Dante must often have seen in
the church or in the streets, perhaps even within the
home of the Cavalcanti, the aged figure of her whose
name had once been on all men's lips. Her wonderful
story, her later years of prayer and penance, the over-
throw of her house touched his youthful imagination.
He meets her spirit, in his Vision, among the blessed in
the sphere of Venus —

"Cuni2za fui chiamatai e qui rifulgo
Perche mi vinse il lume d'esta steila.
Ma lietamente a me medesma indulgo

La cagion di mia sorte, e non mi noia,
Che forse parria forte al vostro vnlgo.""

Thus she sings, in a passage which has much disturbed
the commentators.

A later poet has been attracted by the tale which links
her name with that of the poet Sordello of Mantua, the
"anima lombarda . . • altera e disdegnosa." Browning,
for metrical reasons, has altered her name to Palma, a
name really borne by two of her sisters.^^ But Browning's
poem, ^'Sordello," though some light is thrown on its
obscurities by a knowledge of the history of the Mark,
pays scant heed to the real history of the time of which
it treats, and still less to the real characters of the figures
which pass across its pages.

For a moment a new era of peace and union seemed
about to dawn on the Mark. Verona, Vicenza, Padua,

* It is true that she gives over the souls of those who had
betrayed San Zenone "to aU the devils."

- Dante, " Par.," Canto IX.

3 The other children of Ezzelino the Monk were Agnese, mamed
to a Guidotti, and mother of the cruel Ansedisio ; Palma, who died
young ; Palma Novella, wife of Alberto da Baone ; Emilia, or Imia,
who married into the Conti, and whose goods were confiscated after
her death by the Inquisition ; Sofia, married first to Enrico di Egna,
and mother by him of another of Ezzelino's cruel ministers, and
then to Salinguerra.

330 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

and Treviso made a solemn league for the preservation
of freedom and concord. But these pacific dispositions
did not last. Internal peace only lasted three months in
Verona. Then the popular aversion to the House of San
Bonifazio broke out again ; the young Count and his
party were expelled, and Verona, under the leadership of
Mastino della Scala, returned definitely to the GhibeUine
party."

The town of Bassano had been allowed to choose
whether it would place itself under Vicenza or Padua. It
chose the latter, reserving its local independence. At the
same time the Paduans added to their territory the strip
of land, reaching north to Bassano, between the Trevisan
border and the left bank of the Brenta. This district,
mostly owned by the House of Romano, had formed part
of the Contado of Vicenza: hence arose new discord
between that city and Padua.

The Brescian Ghibellines had dedicated a church to
St. Francis, as a thanksgiving for Ezzelino's overthrow.
But they refused to readmit the Guelf exiles, and gave the
lordship of the city to Pelavicini, who repressed with the
strong hand all dBForts of the exiles to drive him out.
The prisons of Cremona were soon filled with Brescian
Guelfs captured in arms, or suspected of plotting against
his rule. For a moment there seemed to be a chance of
peace between the two factions in Central Lombardy.
The Pope was ready to free Pelavicini, Buoso, and the
Cremonese from excommunication if they would give up
their alliance with Manfred. This they refused to do ;
and Pelavicini stepped into Ezzelino's place as the leader
of the party in Lombardy hostile to the Church. On the
other hand, the Guelf party in Milan began to show them-
selves restive to the Papal authority, and came to an
understanding witli Pelavicini, which, for a time, put an
end to nearly all hostilities between the Milanese and
their neighbours.

Returning now to the affairs of Cenfa-al Lombardy, we
find the chief events of the yiears between the death

' San Bonifazio was readmitted, but was expelled again in 1263,
this time for ever.

THE PALL OF EZZELINO 331

of Frederick II. and the coming of Charles of Anjou
bound up with the career of the Ghibelline leader Oberto
Pelavicini. His timely defection from the side of Ezzelino
not only saved him from the ruin which fell on the
House of Romano, but materially added to his power,
by bringing under his rule the important city of Brescia,
where, as we have seen, internal factions had put an end
to the traditional supremacy of the Guelfs. In 1258 he
had come into possession of Crema ; and though in
the previous year he had been expelled from Piacenza, the
Guelf cities of Ferrara, Mantua, and Padua had bound
themselves, as the price of his assistance against the
tyrant of Verona, to aid him to recover his power there,
an enterprise in which he succeeded in 1261.

The career of Pelavicini gives us one of the best
examples of the opportunities for gratifying personal
ambition which the disturbed state of Italy offered to
men of exceptional capacities.

A younger son of a powerful feudal family seated
on the confines of Parma and Piacenza, Oberto first
appears in Parma, so poor that he rode habitually a
broken-down horse. He was weak of body, thin, and
had lost one eye in infancy. Such, however, was his
political sagacity and his capability as a party leader,
that he was chosen Podest^ of several cities, and so
succeeded in working on public opinion that Cremona
and then Piacenza and other important towns prolonged
his tenure of this office first for a series of years, and
then in some cases for life. A Ghibelline by conviction,
the Hohenstaufen aided his career, and his own efforts
and successes soon made him to be looked on as the
leader of that party in Central Lombardy. He had,
we are told, ''an appetite for rule above that of all
other men" ; and we are also told that wherever he ruled
he favoured the heretics Patarini, Paulicians, and others
of which Lombardy was then full. His career, due
apparently not so much to prowess in arms as to skill
in politics, marks him out as a forerunner of the despots
of the fifteenth century — ^men such as some of the later
Visconti and Sforza, who from the recesses of their

332 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

palaces directed great armies ;and added city after city
to their dominions^ without ever appearing themselves
in the field.

Such was the man whom an unexpected turn of a£Fairs
enabled not only to figure as the head of the Lx>mbard
Ghibellines, but also to appear for a time as ruler of
the Guelf democratic party in Milan.

In this city, which the pressure of external war had
kept in internal peace during a long period, the old
quarrel between nobles and people broke out afresh
in 1252. A temporary peace was patched up by entrust-
ing, for three years in succession, the office of Podesta
to the Marquis Manfred Lancia of Incisa, who succeeded
in preserving tranquillity until 1256. On the expiration
of his office the feud broke out anew, and was embittered
by the murder of one of the people by a nobleman
who was his debtor.^

The nobles, driven from the city, prevailed as usual
in the open country, where their heavy armed cavalry
easily broke the ranks of the more poorly equipped
foot-soldiers of the popular party.

In all the struggles between classes in the Lombard
cities the popular party had drawn to their side some
of the noble families, who either sympathised with
their claims or saw that the prestige of their rank
and riches would infallibly leatd the mass of the
citizens to entrust them with the supreme direction
of affairs. After the disastrous battle of Cortenuova,
when the people of Bergamo suddenly changing sides
had fallen upon the Milanese fugitives, the latter had
been succoured, as we have seen, by a feudal lord,
Pagano della Torre, who owned wide possessions in
the Valsassina.

Popular gratitude for this had thenceforth given the

' The nobles had preserved the right of being absolved from the
murder of an artisan on payment of 7 lire 12 denarii (Leo, vol. iii.
p. 204). The mass of the people were exasperated beyond measure
by the heavy taxation rendered necessary by the war against
Frederick IL, which con tinned to be levied for some years after
his death, in order to pay off the debts which the Commune had
increased in the struggles.

THE FALL OP EZZELINO 333

family a position of great influence in Milan^ and now
its head, Martino della Torre, appears as leader of the
people against the nobles.^

Repeated conflicts, expulsions of the nobles, and
attempts at pacification make up the history of the
next few years.

In Como similar conditions prevailed, and we find
the people, headed by the Vitani, in violent opposition
to the nobles under the Rusconi.

At length, in 1258, three months after a last and
solemn pacification, known as the Peace of St. Ambrose,^
the nobles withdrew once more from Milan, and sought
help from the Rusconi and the neighbouring Ghibelline
cities. In a battle near Como the popular party obtained
a complete victory; the Rusconi were expelled from
Como, and the Milanese nobles were forced to sue
for peace. A treacherous attack, during the negotiations,
on the unsuspecting popular party gave the nobles
once more the upper hand ; but in 1259 all was again
in confusion, and the nobles adopted the desperate
plan of calling in Ezzelino to their aid. It has already
been told how nearly he obtained possession of Milan.
On his final overthrow, however, the nobles found
themselves openly on the side of the Ghibellines, and
shut out from any hope of reconciliation with the
populace*

Della Torre, on the other hand, had utilised the
struggle to get himself chosen as ''Ancient of the
People" and virtual ruler of the city for a term of
years. To this he added in 1259 the lordship over
Lodi ; while Como under the Vitani was devoted to
his interests.

The nobles, however, were still dangerous, entrenched
as they were in their castl6s, and likely to be helped
by the Ghibelline cities. Martino therefore hit on the
daring plan of gaining over Pelavicini to his interests.
Accordingly he caused the latter to be proclaimed in

* The Archbishop led the nobles.

' By this peace all offices of the state, down to that of trumpeter,
were to be equally divided amongst the nobles and the popolo.

334 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

1259 as Captain-General of Milan for a term of five
years.

Milan now appears as holding a middle position
neither Guelf nor Ghil)elline; and, by a curious irony
of fate, very soon came into conflict with the Pope,
who desired a pacification with the expelled nobles,
and who detested Pelavicini as a supporter of heresy.'
Oberto*s power now reached its highest point. Brescia,
Crema, Pavia, and Vercelli were directly subject to him.^
He recovered Piacenza in 1261 ; he ruled also in Tortona
and Alessandria. His compact with Delia Torre gave
him control not only of Milan but of its allies Como,3
Lodi, and Novara, while the Ghibellines of Bergamo,
Parma, Reggio, and Modena looked on him as their
natural head. Finally, in the great Ghibelline stronghold,
Cremona, he, as Podestii of the Commune, shared
the government with the Podesti of the Mercadanza,
Buoso da Doara. In other words, he seemed virtually
master of the whole of Central Lombardy.

Such a rapid rise was followed, however, by a still more
striking downfall.

The Torriani profited by Oberto's aid still farther to
strengthen their position. The power of the banished
nobles was broken by the captiu-e of nine hundred of
them in the castle of Tabiago ; and many leading noble
families had accepted the new condition of afiFairs in
Milan. Martino della Torre, and his brother Filippo,
who succeeded him in 1263 as head of the family, now
felt strong enough to maintain themselves without
Oberto's help. In 1263 Oberto's term as Signore in
Novara expired, and Martino was chosen in his stead.
In the next year Filippo was recognised as Signore of
Lodi, Como, Bergamo, and Vercelli ; and Pelavicini, on

' Wherever Oberto ruled he encouraged the heretics. No less
than fifteen different sects of heretics were to be found in Milan
and its territory in the middle of the thirteenth century (Lanzani).

* Pavia seems to have been in a more independent position
towards him than the other Ghibelline cities ; at least after 1257.

3 In 1259 Martino della Torre was made Podesta of Como for
five years (Salzer, p. 53).

THE FALL OP EZZELINO 335

the expiration of his term of office in Milan, saw himself
shut out, apparently without the possibility of making
any effectual opposition, from these towns and from
Milan itself. His rule was now restricted to the definitely
Ghibelline cities, in which he maintained himself in
open opposition to the Torriani until the coming of
Charles of Anjou.

The party of the nobles had in the meantime received
an unexpected addition of strength. Two years before
the beginning of the joint rule of Delia Torre and
Pelavicini in Milan, the archiepiscopal see in that city
had become vacant. Factions among the clergy, and
then Oberto's intrigues, prevented the election of a
successor until the Pope, in 1262, himself filled up the
vacancy by appointing Otto Visconti, a member of a
noble family owning great estates around the lower
end of Lago Maggiore.

The Visconti, henceforth so closely bound up with the
history .of Milan, seem, in the days when the city was still
governed by the Archbishops, to have come into posses-
sion of the hereditary viscountship of the city, an office
^ which possessed a very extensive jurisdiction over the
artisan classes. This post brought great wealth and
influence over the lower orders to the family.

Both Martino and Oberto refused to recognise the
new Archbishop, who thereupon naturally joined him-
self to the nobles, to whose party he belonged by birth,
and who adopted him as their leader.

The rulers of Milan seized the lands and castles of the
Archbishop, and the Pope in reply placed the city under
an interdict. Hence, an illustration of the confusion of
parties in Italy, we find the professedly Guelf party of
the Torriani allied with the leader of the Lombard Ghibel-
lines and under the ban of the Church, while the avowed
Milanese Ghibellines were supported by the Pope and
headed by his Archbishop of Milan.

The renewed attacks of the nobles met with no success,
even when Pelavicini, breaking with the Torriani in
1264, had allied himself with them. The Delia Torre
strengthened themselves by handing over the Signoria

396 THE LOMBARD COIOCUNES

of Milan, in name at least, to Charles of Anjou, who
was beginning to be looked on as the champion of the
P^al party in Italy, and received from him a Provenfal
Podestit and a body of French troops.

Parties in Lombardy once more permit of a sharp
definition: on one side the Guelf headed as of old by
Milan, under the rule of the Delia Torre ; on the other,
the Ghibelline cities grouped round Cremon^ which was
jointly governed by Oberto Pelavidni and Buoso da
Doanu v^

During the years of which we have l)een treating the
Papacy had been engaged in an unrelenting warfare against
the surviving members of the House of Hohenstaufen ;
first against Conrad, who succeeded his father as German
King and in the kingdom of Naples, and after Conrad's
death,! against Manfred, the youngest son of Frederick II.,
who ruled Naples as regent for the infant son of Conrad,
and then, on a false rumour of his death, as sovereign.
In spite of all the efforts of the Popes during the next
ten years Manfred not only held his ground in his
kingdom, but extended his power over a large part of
Central Italy. The Pope finally realised that the only
means of crushing him lay in calling to his aid a foreign
prince who should receive as a reward the crown,
which the Church party held had been forfeited by the
Hohenstaufens.

After protracted negotiations the Papal offers were
accepted by the Count of Provence, Charles of Anjou,
brother of St. Louis of France, who prepared a large
army of Frenchmen and Proven9als with which to expel
from Naples and Sicily their actual ruler. News of
Charles's preparations excited the factions of Lombardy
to renewed activity. The Guelfs of Modena, aided by
those of Ferrara and Mantua, expelled the opposite
faction from their city. Then they proceeded to Reggie,
where for some years both parties had lived in peace
together,* and attacked one of the gates.

' In 1254 (Leo).

* The Guelf party apparently obtained the chief power in Reggio
in or about 1257. A Bolognese was Podesta in 1258.

THE FALL OF EZZELINO 337

Aided by the Guelfs of Reggio, the noble families of
Fogliani and Roberti^ they forced their way in, and after
hard fighting expelled the opposite party, the noble family
of Sessi and their supporters. News of these events threw
Parma also into confusion. There both parties had united
in 1259 to expel Ghiberto da Gente, who had ruled for
six years in the Ghibelline interest. Now the Guelfs
rose, and, after fierce street fighting, gained the upper
hand. Two Podestas were appointed, one for each
faction, a compromise which ended, in 1266, in the total
expulsion of the Ghibellines.^

On the other hand Oberto Pelavicini and Buoso da
Doara made preparations to oppose the passage of
Charles's army.

In 1265 Charles with part of his forces proceeded by
sea to Rome ; the main body of his army advanced by
land. Six years before several of the smaller towns of
Piedmont, Alba, Chierasco, Cuneo, and others, beset by
powerful feudal lords, had sought protection for them-
selves by choosing Charles as their lord. In this way his
army had a free passage across the frontier passes. The
Marquis William of Montferrat, whom we are destined to
meet again in the course of this history, and who had
previously been reckoned among Manfred's supporters,
now appeared on the side of Charles, and the support of
Asti and Turin opened all these regions to the invaders.

The shortest route for the French army from Pied-
mont to Rome would have been that across the
Apennines and through Tuscany. But Tuscany was
entirely in the hands of the Ghibellines under the
vigorous leadership of Pisa and Siena ; and Charles's
generals decided to march straight across Lombardy,
and, avoiding Tuscany, to proceed by way of Bologna
and Romagna into Umbria.

■ Parma had been under Ghiberto da Gente from 1253 to 1259.
He gained power as a mediator between the two factions, and
recalled the Ghibellines who had been in exile since 1247. He
ruled, however, in the Ghibelline interest. After his expulsion the
city was in a very disturbed state. Oberto Pelavinci became
Podesta in 1263, but his efiEorts to gain the lordship of Parma
failed.

338 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

The Ghibelline cities, however, formed a solid line
across the centre of Loml>ardy; Pavia, Piacenza, and
Tortona on the left resting on the Apennines, Cremona,
and apparently Crema, in the centre, and on the right
Brescia and Verona, whose territories ran up to the High
Alps. It seemed possible for the Ghibellines, entrenched
behind the innumerable rivers of Central Lombardy, if
not to prevent, at least seriously to delay the progress of
the in^^uling army.

The French, having stormed Vercelli on their way,
advanced through the territory of Milan. Oberto and
Buoso drew out their forces, and posted themselves at
Soncino, to prevent the passage of the Oglio. But the
Ghit>eUines confined themselves to the defensive — ^it is
said by the treacherous advice of Buoso, corrupted by
French gold — ^until the lords of Este and San Bonifazio
had collected in their rear the forces of the Guelfs of
Ferrara and Mantua. Then the French, by a sudden
movement, crossed the Oglio unopposed at a point
higher up^Buoso gets the credit of having acted
treacherously here also— and passing under the walls
of Brescia, into which town they shot arrows as they
passed, they advanced in Oberto's rear, to join the forces
of Mantua and Ferrara. Many strong fortresses were
stormed by them, and Oberto was glad to escape
unattacked into Cremona.

The decisive battle of Benevento, and Manfred's defeat
and death, lie outside our scope. But the passage of
Charles's army brought about the final overthrow of
Oberto.

Brescia, from of old inclined to the Guelfs, had long
been weary of the Ghibelline rule. More than one
conspiracy against Oberto had been discovered and
repressed with severity. Now, however, when Oberto
had been forced to weaken his garrison, the townsmen
rose, and, having expelled his supporters, chose Napo-
leone della Torre, then head of his house, for their lord.

Oberto now directed all his efforts to maintain him-
self in Piacenza and Cremona. He withdrew his forces
from Alessandria, where, since 1262, he had, with the

PlACENZA.

Cathedral.

To face page 339,

THE FALL OF EZZELINO 33ft

support of the Ghibelline faction of the Lanzavecchi,
ruled as custos, or military governor. The opposite
party, the Pozzi, were recalled from exile, and both
factions seem to have lived in more or less tranquillity,
tempered with street fighting, until in 1270 the city
sought to attain to a more peaceful state of a£Fairs by
conferring the hereditary lordship on Charles of Anjou.
At the same time Oberto handed over Tortona to the
Pavesans, who only held it for a year.

In Cremona, where for several years Buoso and Oberto
had shared the chief power, the former, irritated by some
secret negotiations of the latter with the Roman court,
conspired against his colleague and expelled him from
the city. Piacenza alone now remained in Oberto's
possession, and even here he was unable to maintain
himself against the intrigues of the Papal party. He fell
almost without a struggle in the next year, and it was
said that he used to express his wonder how one priest
by his soft words had deprived him of his dominion.

Driven from all the cities which had once obeyed him,
he maintained himself for a few years longer in his
castles, until his death in 1269.' The family, which in
later times altered its name to Pallavicino, remained until
the eighteenth century in possession of a small territory
round Busseto, between the territories of Parma, Piacenza,
and Cremona, as immediate vassals of the Empire.

Buoso did not long enjoy the fruit of his treachery.
In 1267 he was expelled from Cremona, with, it is said,
10,000 Ghibellines, his partisans, and spent the rest of
his life as a wandering and indigent soldier of fortune.

His grandfather 3 had conducted negotiations with
Frederick Barbarossa as one of the Rectors of the
Lombard League ; the memory of the son lasts to our
own day, chiefly through the biting lines of Dante, who
met him among the traitors in hell.

3 " La dove i peccatori stanno freschi"

■ He is said to have been reconciled to the Church on his
deathbed.
* Leo and others say his father, but this scarcely seems possible.
3 "Inferno/' Canto XXXII.

340 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

Piaoenza and Cremona now appear on the side of the
Guelfs ; and at about this time the Delia Torre^ by the
mediation of Charles of Anjou, made their peace with
the Pope. Otto Visconti was recognised as Archbishop,
the possessions of his see given up to hinii and Milan
was freed from all ecclesiastical censures. In all Lorn-
bardy only Pavia and Verona remained faithful to the
Ghibelline cause. To still more strengthen the Guelfs
a new league was formed in 1267 which embraced nearly
every city of Lombardy and the Trevisan Mark. The
Ghibelline power seemed broken for ever.

CHAPTER XII

GUELFS AND GHIBELLINES AND THE RISE OF
THE POPOLO

One of the most curious features in the story of medieval
Italy is the constant vicissitudes of fortune which, without
any apparent cause, suddenly alter the whole political
balance of the country. No sooner does one party
appear lost beyond recovery, than it seems to gather new
force from its very overthrow, rapidly regains the ground
it had lost, and in its turn tastes the sweets of success, to
fall once more and rise again in endless alternations.
Before ten years have elapsed from the conclusion of
the new Guelf league we shall find the Ghibelline party
once more vigorous, if not triumphant, in Lombardy.

We may find the explanation of the instability of
Italian politics in the fact that the victorious faction
invariably ruled on party lines, expelling their opponents
wholesale, seizing their goods, and admitting of no lasting
compromise with their adversaries. Such a government
was naturally displeasing to the more moderate spirits,
who preferred the good of the city to party interests ; a
large number of the citizens saw themselves permanently
shut out from all share in the offices and honours of the
state ; and the mass of the people might justly complain
that aflFairs were managed, not in the interests of all, but
merely in those of the dominant faction. Moreover, the
party in power in all ages manages to offend many who at
one time have been favourably disposed towards it ; it is
blamed for disasters which may occur abroad, and for
heavy taxation which it may have had to impose at home,
and so a discontented party naturally grows up. The

841

342 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

example of England, where during the nineteenth century
Liberals and Conservatives have practically alternated
with every new Parliament, shows this clearly ; the
difference is that in medieval Italy street fighting, the
firing of houses, and the expulsion en masse of the
beaten side took the place of the more peaceful ballot-
boxes of our own day.

Even in towns such as Milan and Piacenza, where the
parties were closely bound up with the struggle of class
against class, we find this shifting of the balance from
one side to the other. It will help to explain this if we
remember that the term '' people " in medieval Italy as
a rule only includes what we would call the middle
classes ; the artisans, no doubt the mass of the population,
were nearly entirely shut out from even the most demo-
cratic governments. Hence their support might well be
given at one time to the nobles, at another to the popolo;
and so the balance of parties be maintained fairly even.

In some Communes, it is true, where the Guelfs and
Ghibellines represented class interests, we find compara-
tive stability. Thus in Milan the popular party, headed
by the Torriani, ruled at first for about twenty years, and
then the Visconti held the city for twenty-five years, ruling
as Ghibellines, at the head of the nobles. We notice this
stability especially in cities situated in the open plain.
Yet the chronicler of Asti tells how more than five times
in his own lifetime he had seen the nobles expelled from
Pavia.

In the towns whose territories lay mostly in the hill
country the changes are exceptionally violent and be-
wildering. Como was in an almost perpetual state of
confusion between 1250 and 1310 ; and the coming to
Italy in that year of the new Emperor Henry VII. did not
restore peace. The chronicler of Asti declares that seven
times one faction in Alessandria had expelled the other.
Asti itself was in but a little better condition at the open-
ing of the fourteenth century.

In general, the most frequent and sudden changes of
fortune occur in the cities where the parties had their
origin in quarrels among the nobles. The factions fought

GUELPS AND GHIBELLINES 343

one another from the towers of their palaces, or in the
streets or squares below, until one party drove out the
other ; the mass of the people, meanwhile, " sat quietly
at their looms, or at other employments, and worked
away as if nothing was the matter." « This was the case
at Parma at first. It was also the case at Asti, and
apparently at Bergamo, as well as in Modena and Reggio,
and in most of the cities of Romagna.

The beaten faction left the city and retired to their
castles in the Contado. The victors seized on the govern-
ment of the Commune, but could not, as a rule, follow up
their enemies outside the walls ; for where the mass of
the people were indi£Ferent the rulers dared not demand
from them any unusual military service, or impose any
increased taxation. Meanwhile the exiles from their
castles infested the open country, interfered with the
trade of the peaceful citizens, or ravaged the lands from
which they drew their food supplies. The sufiFerers,
driven to action, forced the governing faction to patch
up a peace ; or the efforts of the clergy — the Franciscans
especially seem to have been active as peacemakers —
brought about a temporary reconciliation. The exiles
were recalled ; their palaces re-built ; often marriages
were arranged between the leading families on both
sides ; and matters settled down for a short period,
often only for a few months, until another explosion
led to more fighting, house burning, and wholesale
expulsions. Sometimes the exiles would gain a great
victory in the open country and march on the city.
Partisans inside would open the gates; the mob scent-
ing plunder would rise to welcome their return, and
the party which lately had ruled now saw their houses
stormed and plundered, and fled in their turn to their
castles, to recommence hostilities from thence, and so on
da capo. Or, if the exiled faction did not succeed in re-
entering the city, they seized on a great part of the
Contado. Thus the valley of the Taro and the foot-hills
of the Apennines in the territory of Piacenza were almost
permanently in the power of the Ghibellines of Piacenza
* Salzer, p. 109, fr. Fra Salimbene.

344 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

for a quarter of a century after the expulsion of Oberto
Pebvicini. The Sessi and their followers, driven from
Reggio in 1270, the Grasulfi, expelled from Modena in
1264, held their ground among the mountains, where,
even in times of the fullest internal peace, the Communes
found it hard to maintain their auttority over the feudal
lords whose castles crowned every crag.

In the territory of Modena the Ghibellines held some
of the mountain strongholds for twenty years. Then the
Guelf nobles began to fight amongst themselves. The
extreme Guelf party expelled the Moderates, who seized
on the castles of Savignano and Sassuolo on the edge of
the plain, and set up a regular government there, with a
Podest^ of their own. Joined by the Ghibelline exiles
they harassed the city. The exiles from Reggio made
common cause with them. A great victory in 1288 over
the ruling faction of Reggio led to the readmission of the
exiles to both cities. But discord continued. To secure
peace the Modanese gave themselves to the Marquis of
Este in 1288. Next year the Ghibellines of Reggio, who
after months of tumult had expelled the Guelfs, followed
the example of Modena. Peace at home was only secured
by the loss of freedom.

The internal history of Brescia o£Fers a good example
of the vicissitudes of the parties. Although the Guelf
exiles of the popular party had fought under Oberto
Pelavicini against Ezzelino, he would not restore them
to their homes when he gained possession of Brescia in
1260. Pelavicini, in the five years during which he ruled,
became obnoxious to many of those who had formerly
supported him. His overthrow in 1265 was brought
about by a union between the nobles and people, and as
a result the exiles were readmitted, and Guelfs and
Ghibellines were solemnly reconciled. Up to now the
nobles had almost all been Ghibellines, in opposition to
the Guelf popolo. But now many of the leading nobles
had gone over to the Guelf side ; and for a long period
we hear of no more dissensions between nobles and
popolo. The Guelf party, strengthened by the adhesion
of so many nobles, expelled the Ghibellines in 1268. The

GUELPS AND GHIBELLINES 345

Ghibellines maintained themselves in the open country,
and so harassed the city that King Charles of Naples was
made lord for six years so as to put a stop to the factions.

Not until 1272 did a Papal legate succeed in reconcil-
ing the adversaries. But he accomplished his work well,
and for twenty-three years the city had peace within,
while in outside a£Fairs it at first supports the Delia Torre
and the Guelf cities, then is found allied with Cremona,
Piacenza, and Visconti, forming a moderate party between
the violent Guelfs and Ghibellines.

Internal discord broke out afresh in 1295. There were
now four parties among the nobles — Guelfs, Ghibellines,
Griffi, and Bardelli. The Grifli had been the leading
Ghibelline family ; now, with some other nobles, they
formed a faction apart. A fifth party, a popular Guelf one,
then appears on the scene, and takes the name of Ferioli.
The Guelfs, properly so called, who numbered twenty-
four noble families, expelled the other four factions. The
usual warfare began in the Contado, until to secure peace
the lordship of the city was given to the Bishop Maggi
for five years, and the exiles were readmitted. The
Maggi were among the leading Guelfs, but the Bishop, to
secure his power, turned on some of his former allies.
He expelled the Guelf Brusati as well as the Griffi, and
ruled till his death in 1308. The Emperor Henry VII.
restored the exiles. The result was a fierce fight within
the city, between the Maggi, now definitely Ghibelline,
and the Brusati, who were aided by the people. The
latter won, and one of the Brusati was made Signore.
The Emperor came again, this time to restore the
Ghibellines. This he only succeeded in doing after a
desperate siege.

No sooner had he gone when the parties were once
more at one another's throats. The Maggi, helped by the
Ghibellines of Bergamo and Cremona, won, and again
expelled the Brusati. The latter joined the Guelf exiles
of Cremona, captured that city, and then seized on nearly
all the hilly part of the Contado of Brescia, as well as a
large part of the plain. This was in 1212, and in 1213 the
city was in such straits that the Ghibellines were forced

346 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

to readmit the exiles. Marriages were made between the
noble houses of either party to secure a permanent peace ;
but two years later the Ghibellines began again to harass
their opponents. This time it was the Guelfs who won
and expelled the Ghibellines. War ensued all over the
Contado. The exiles, helped by Can Grande della Scala,
won a considerable victory ; this, however, was followed
by a disastrous overthrow in which they lost most of their
infantry. But, secure in their castles, they held their
ground so well that the Guelfs were forced to call King
Robert of Naples to their aid, and to give him the lord-
ship of the city. His troops cleared most of the Contado
of Ghibellines, and for a time the city enjoyed peace,
though the Ghibellines were by no means annihilated.
Rather, after a few years, they reappear almost as active
as before. Brescia, like her sister Communes, only found
peace under the rule of a despot.

Opposed to the Commune we r^ularly find ''the exiles
of the Commune" forming an organised political body
under an elected war captain, and in close alliance with
other Communes, or other groups of exiles of their own
party. Within the city the government has frankly
become that of a faction. We find in treaties and other
public documents expressions such as ''The Commune of
Cremona, namely, the party of the Barbarasi,^ which now
is the Commune of Cremona and rules the Commune of
Cremona." The Podestli of Verona, in 1271, no longer
swears to serve the Commune, but "those who now hold
and rule Verona." The " pars intrinseca " stands in per-
petual opposition to the ''pars extrinseca," or "forenses,"
in the annals and in the official documents of the time.

The fury of faction increased as time went on. We
note a marked development of cruelty. Ezzelino had
shocked his age ; the succeeding generation gives us
numberless instances of atrocities which rival his worst
crimes. A Ghibelline outbreak at Mantua in 1268 spared
neither age nor sex. " Women were dragged to the scaf-
fold pell-mell with children." Four years later " neither
innocent children nor feeble old men were spared; virgins
' Salzer, p. 2a The Barbaras! were the Ghibellines of Cremona.

Verona.
Palazzo della Ragione.

\cc page 346.

GUELF8 AND GmBELLINES 347

were burned alive." It was feared that the city would
remain empty of inhabitants, as it had already been
reduced almost to a heap of ruins.

We read of wholesale massacres of rival families, often
under circumstances of revolting treachery. Dante holds
up to infamy the Bishop of Feltre, who gave up the
Ghibelline exiles of Ferrara to the vengeance of their
enemies. The tragic fate of Count Ugolino and his family
in the " Hunger Tower " at Pisa has been immortalised
in the " Inferno."

The vanquished party was driven out en masse, their
houses destroyed, their property confiscated. Twelve
thousand persons were expelled from Bologna in 1274,
ten thousand from Cremona in 1266. When the Floren-
tine Guelfs split in the early fourteenth century we hear
of four thousand Guelf exiles able to bear arms taking
advantage of an amnesty on one occasion. Whole cities
were destroyed, and the inhabitants massacred or driven
into exile. Such was the fate of Camerino in 1261 ; of
Sinigaglia four years previously. The provinces of Central
Italy were the theatre of the worst excesses; but the
annals of Lombardy show a marked growth of ferocity.
The Ghibelline exiles of Modena, forced to surrender in
the castle of Monte Valario, were all put to death in cold
blood. The Ghibellines of Vercelli carried ofif by surprise
the Podest^ Paganino della Torre, who was then handed
over to the exiled Milanese nobles, who killed him. In
revenge, fifty-two nobles, captives at Milan, were slain by
the Podesta of that city. Conspiracies against the ruling
party were ruthlessly suppressed ; torture and mutilation
were the common accompaniment of the death penalty.^
When the Bolognese captured twenty exiles in the castle
of Samodia in 1292 they beheaded two or three every
day, until all had perished. The members of the family
of the Lupi, captiu-ed by their fellow-citizens at Canulo in
1308, were hanged. When the Lambertazzi were defi-
nitely expelled from Bologna in 1306, the boys cut the

' As in the case of the Abbot of Vallombrosa, tortured and executed
by the Guelfs of Florence on the charge of being implicated in a
Ghibelline plot. For this the city was put under an interdict.

348 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

bodies of the slain into bits, and carried them on hooks
to their houses.

The factions made even the commonest acts of life
symbolical of their mutual detestation. ** Flags, colours,
the fruits of the earth, the manner of walking, of cracking
the fingers, of yawning, all became party signs. The
inhabitants of Bergamo murdered some strangers from
Calabria in their sleep, because they had cut garlic in a
fashion which was used by the faction opposed to that
ruling in the city. Ghibellines wore their plumes on the
left, Guelfs on the right ; Ghibellines raised the first finger,
Guelfs the thumb, when taking an oath ; the former cut
apples across, the latter perpendicularly ; the Ghil>ellines
drank from plain, the Guelfs from chiselled cups ; where
Guelfs wore red roses their opponents wore white." In
their houses and their dress the same opposition was
maintained. Ghibelline fortresses had swallow-tailed
battlements, Guelf square. The climax was reached
when the soldiers of Milan in the fifteenth century tore
the figure of Christ from the cross in the Duomo of
Crema ^' because it inclined the head to the Guelf side.^^

To strengthen itself by securing internal discipline, each
party in the Commune gave itself a head invested with
almost despotic power. Here we have the germ from
which arose the tyrants who destroyed the republican
freedom of the cities. The family which supplied the
leader — ^sometimes that house from whose private feuds
the internal dissensions had arisen, sometimes one which
had come into prominence during the struggle — ogives its
name to its party. The Guelfs and Ghibellines in each
Commune are personified by the names of two rival
houses. So we have the Lambertazzi and the Geremei in
Bologna ; the Acarisi and Manfredi in Faenza; the Fog-
liani and the Sessi in Reggio ; the Fisiraga and Vistarini
in Lodi, drawing the whole city after them in their feuds,
and ranging themselves under the banner of Church or
Empire. The noble house of the Torriani come forward
to head the people of Milan against the nobles, who are
forced in self-defence to become Ghibellines, and put at
* Symonds, " Renaissance in Italy."

OUELFS AND QHIBELLINES 340

their head the Archbishop Otto Visconti. In Pavia the
Count of Langusco heads the Guelf nobles ; the Ghibel-
line popolo find leaders in the Beccheria. The Rusconi
represent the nobles in Como ; the Vitani, allies of the
Delia Torre, lead the people. After many vicissitudes the
factions of Piacenza range themselves under the banners
of the Landi and the Scotti ; those of Brescia under the
Brusati and the Maggi; those of Bergamo under the
Soardi and Coleoni.

Guelfs and Ghibellines are in every city, but in many
they bear local names. In Cremona the Guelfs, who
seem to appear for the first time in 1249, took the name
of Capelletti' ; their opponents were known as the Bar-
barasi or Troncaciuffi, names that at once recall the
Roundheads and the Croppies of English and Irish
history. The Ghibelline nobles of Brescia were known
as the Malisardi ; the Guelfs of Modena as the Aigoni.
In Genoa the Rampini, in Milan the Malisardi, were
Guelfs. The Genoese Ghibellines were called Mascherati.
In Reggio there were the parties " Above the Street" and
"Below the Street," the former being the extreme Guelfs.
The Ghibellines of Pavia were called Fallambrini, those
of Novara Rotondi, their opponents, being known as
Marcabotti and Sanguigni.

Accidental as the first outbreak of strife in a city often
was, or dependent on private or class interests, the fac-
tions inevitably tended to rest on real divergencies of
principle. The nobles of Vicenza had su£Fered dreadfully
at the hands of Ezzelino, yet, only a few years after his
fall, we find an avowed Ghibelline party among them.
Verona had rejoiced at the overthrow of the tyrant, but
did not swerve for a moment from her allegiance to the
survivors of the House of Hohenstaufen. We notice a
distinct tendency on the part of the popolo, as it rose to
power, to adopt the Guelf party. This is especially seen
in the Communes of Tuscany ; but it is also the case in
Parma, Bologna, and, apparently, in Cremona. At the

' Shakespeare's Capulets would seem to be named after these
Capelletti, whom later traditions brought (erroneously) to Verona.
His Montagues are certainly the MontecchL

350 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

same time, we must note that in Verona and Mantua the
rise to power of the people meant the triumph of the
Ghibellines. The great feudal lords were attracted,
naturally enough, to the Imperial party ; though here
again we must note the exceptional attitude of the
Houses of Este and San Bonifsucio.

Piacenza gives us a curious instance of these tenden-
cies. At first the popolo, with the great feudal family of
De Andito or Landi at their head, had been Imperialist,
while the nobles had been the sdlies of Milan and the
League. It was the people who set up Pelavicini. But
during his rule a change seems to have set in. After his
expulsion, quite a number of the nobles appear as form-
ing with the Landi the Ghibelline party, in close alliance
with the feudal lords among the mountains, while the
middle classes are now on the side of the Guelfs, and on
friendly terms with the ruling popular party in Parma,
Cremona, and Milan.^

We must not forget that there were some towns free
from changes. Verona was steadily Ghibelline ; the
Count of San Bonifazio and his supporters, though
restored to the dty after Ezzelino's death, were ex-
pelled in 1263 for good and all. Padua once freed from
Ezzelino remained Guelf as long as her independence
lasted. In Bologna the nobles fought among themselves
during the later years of Frederick II. ; but a Ghibelline
party did not appear until about 1255, and never gained
complete control of the Commune.

Or there might be only one short period of struggle.
Thus Mantua had been consistently Guelf, and under the
influence of the families of Este and San Bonifazio until
1260. In that year the Marquis and Count were expelled
by a sudden uprising. They returned two years later

* On the other hand, in Brescia the nobles became Ghibelline to
gala help in their straggle with the popolo. After Pelavicini's
expulsion the nobles seem to have controlled the city for many
years. They split into factions. At the close of the century there
were twenty-four noble Gnelf families, fourteen noble Ghibelline
families. Some eight or ten others formed the factions of the Griffi
and Bardelli, of whom the former were Ghibelline.

GUELFS AND GHIBELLINES 351

and drove out their adversaries. Then followed a period
of unexampled violence. Four powerful families led
after them the four quarters into which the city was
divided. Of these the Casaloldi and the Bonaccolsi
expelled the Arloti and Zanicalli. The Marquis of Este
attempted to restore the latter ; but the whole city rose
in uproar against him. He withdrew, but plotted to gain
possession of the city. Pinamonte Bonaccolsi, an un-
scrupulous and able man, alienated the Count of San
Bonifazio from the old ally of his house ; and they, with
the Casaloldi, foiled all the efforts of the Marquis.

This was in 1269, and three years later Bonaccolsi
drove out the Count and the Casaloldi. He had managed
to attach the people to his side, and by their help he
expelled the Count of Marcharia and his followers, who
had aided him against San Bonifazio. The old Guelf
aristocracy of Mantua had been shattered in these
struggles. Bonaccolsi appeared as leader of the popolo,
and an avowed Ghibelline. Being now de facto ruler of
the city, he was elected by the multitude as Captain of
the People for life — ^a dignity which he passed on to his
son. A despotism was thus set up in Mantua which
continued under a succession of able and unscrupulous
descendants of Pinamonte until 1328, when the Bonac-
colsi were overthrown by Lodovico Gonzaga, whose
posterity ruled Mantua until lyoS.'

Amidst all the confusion of the time we can mark a
steady growth of the power of the popolo during the
last fifty years of the thirteenth century. The rising
democracy in Milan, in Mantua,^ and in other towns
committed suicide by setting up a despot. But in
Parma, Reggio, Modena, and Bologna — to name only
those Communes where this movement can be most
clearly traced — ^the popolo, organised in its trades guilds
or Arti, became the ruling element in the state, and broke
the power of the old aristocracy.

' The Ck>ttnts of San Bonifazio disappear after 1272 from the
history of the Mark and Mantua ; but they still remained power-
ful in other parts of Italy.

" Pinamonte Bonaccolsi nearly destroyed the Mantuan nobility.

352 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

From an early period the trades guilds had had
certain elected magistrates to decide cases arising out
of question of trade, markets, Ac These Consoli delle
Arti| or della Mercadanzia, as they were called, were
frequently called to assist at the deliberations of the
ruling magistrates of the Commune. In the thirteenth
century the constant warfare of city against city led to
increased taxation, and it was but natural that the classes
on whom the increasing burthen pressed most heavily
should demand more and more voice in the management
of public affairs.

Hence arose the continual conflicts between popolo
and nobles which we have spoken of as occurring in
almost every city during the first thirty years of the
century. These quarrels were checked for a time by
the war with Frederick II. But they soon broke out
again; and the people, strong in their numbers and
organisation, increasing every day in wealth, almost
always triumphed over the aristocracy, who were
weakened by their constant feuds.

The first step in the rising power of the guilds is the
admission of their heads to a share in the government.
This was obtained in Bologna in 1228, in Parma in
1244, in each case by a popular insurrection.' Then
there appears a new magistrate — Captain of the People,
Ancient of the People, Podesta of the People, as he was
called in different cities. This magistracy, a development
of an earlier and minor one, that of Podesta of the Mer-
chants, appears as equal, and soon as superior, to that of
the Podesta of the Commune. The new magistrate,
curiously enough, is often a noble, sometimes from
another city. His duties are to head the armed forces
of the guilds, to suppress disorders among the nobles, to
protect the people from the oppression to which they
were too often exposed at the hands of the turbulent
younger members of the aristocracy. He has a special
guard, his smaller and greater councils composed of
members of the guilds, his own courts of justice, his

' In Milan, Brescia, Piacenza, and Cremona, as we have seen, the
rise of the popolo was earlier.

GUELPS AND GHIBELLINBS 363

own revenues. Alongside of the Palace of the Com-
mune— ^the seat of the Podesta and councils of the
Commune — arises the Palazzo del Popolo, where the
new magistrate holds his seat.'

This new office first appears in Parma in 1244, in
Piacenza in 1250, in Bologna in 1255, in other cities
in the following years. In some cases the partisans of
the older order were able to do away with the new magis-
tracy, for a time at least. In Parma the new office was
abolished in 1244, almost as soon as it was set up ; and
not till 1253 do we hear of another Captain of the People
in that city. In that year it was revived in the person of
Ghiberto da Gente, already Podesta of the Merchants,
who took advantage of it to make himself despot of the
city. This latter proceeding was, indeed, a common one
in those cities where the resistance of the old privileged
classes was great. The popolo were ready to sacrifice
their liberty, if by so doing they could crush their oppo-
nents. The best example of this is the history of the
Delia Torre in Milan.

Ghiberto was overthrown in 1250, and the Captainship
of the People abolished. It was set up again in 1266, a
year in which the Ghibellines were expelled, and the
people definitely triumphed over the nobles thus
weakened. The government of Parma passed now
into the hands of the trades guilds. For nearly forty
years Parma enjoyed prosperity under this new govern-
ment. The private quarrels of the nobles were repressed ;
their insolence towards the lower orders was curbed by
statutes passed in 1279. Parma, tranquil at home, ex-
tended its influence by peaceful means over Reggio and
Modena, and held the same position among the Emilian
cities as Milan in Central Lombardy and Bologna in
Romagna.

The new government in Parma and in other cities
which followed the same course of development was, on
the whole, a government of the middle classes. Only
certain guilds had full civic privileges. In Parma in
1215 fifteen guilds were subject to the Rector of the
'■ In Reggio the Palazzo del Popolo was built in 1280.
23

354 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

Merchants, and no doubt it was these fifteen that obtained
a share in the councils of the state in 1244* In 1253
seven, and in ia6x four more, were admitted to the same
privileges. Of the older ruling classes the merchants,
bankers, and those whose position in the ruling oligarchy
was based on wealth acquired by trade or manufacture,
took their place naturally in the new government as
members of a guild. In some cities the bankers, lawyers,
and merchants had special privil^es over those guilds
such as shoemakers, masons, carpenters, who belonged
more to the artisan class. In other cities, again, these
wealthier guilds were under certain disabilities. In
Bologna the lawyers were excluded from the Council
of the People; in that city and Parma the butchers
were specially important ; in Florence the '' Art of
Wool" was of greatest influence.^ The poorer classes
in general were shut out from any share of the govern-
ment. But they, in turn, were constantly striving to
obtain the privileges enjoyed by the classes above them.
In some cities new guilds were from time to time ad*
mitted to those jM-ivileges; in others the lower orders,
shut out from power, were ready to help any ambitious
man who strove to make himself despot ; in others they
were ready to help the nobles to recover their lost power.

As for the nobles, properly so called, the landowning
feudal aristocracy, they now really become a caste apart.
In some Communes they were still allowed a share in the
government, on condition of enrolling themselves in a
guild ; in others they were completely shut out from all
the magistracies, though still allowed to enter the Council
of the Commune.

Thus, instead of the old aristocracy, we have a new
oligarchy set up, consisting of the middle classes. On
the one hand the Magnates, Grandi, or Nobili are ex-
cluded, on the other the Plebe or Popolo Minuto.^

■The seven "Greater Arts" of Florence were: (i) Jndges,
Notaries, and Doctors of Law. (2) The Guild of " Calimalay" or
importers of foreign cloth. (3) Bankers and Money-changers.
(4) The Guild of WooL (5) The Silk Mercers. (6) Physicians and
Apothecaries. (7) Furriers.

" Florence and Stena at the close of the thirteenth and the opening

Photo.]

Leaning Towers.
Bologna.

[Pietro Poppi, Bologua.

To /ace pagt 355.

GUELFS AND GHIBELLINE8 355

The new middle-class government was in general Guelf
in its tendencies. The triumph of the Arti marks in
Parma, Piacenza, Modena, Bologna, as well as in Tus-
cany, a definite Guelf victory. In Parma in 1284 all
Ghibellines were included among the ''potentes/' and
as such were subject to special disabilities.

This brings us to a curious feature in the development
oi-the Communes — ^the penal laws against the nobles.
The victorious middle classes, weary of the ceaseless
feuds of the nobles amongst themselves, and of their acts
of violence against the persons and property of the rest
of the population, passed laws not only excluding them
from all share in the government of the city, but subject-
ing them to a special and onerous code of laws, the least
infringement of which was visited by heavy penalties, of
which one of the commonest was the destruction of their
palaces and towers. To be made a noble was a punish-
ment reserved for unruly burghers ; to be enrolled among
the people was a reward bestowed on those nobles who
had deserved well of the Commune.

The famous " Ordinances of Justice " of Florence are
the best-known example of these statutes ; but we find
similar laws in force in most of the other Tuscan
cities — Siena, Lucca, even Ghibelline Pisa. North of
the Apennines, besides the decrees in Parma, already
mentioned, Bologna offers the best instance of such
measures.

This city, owing to the extent of its territory and its
importance from early times, possessed an unusually
large and powerful nobility. The "Cronicadi Bologna,"
giving a list of the families who took sides in the quarrel
of the Lambertazzi and Geremei, names nearly two
hundred families, who, from their names, nearly all
appear to have been noble.* There were over 180
towers erected by nobles. The two famous leaning
towers of the Garisenda and the Asinelli, and the ten
or twelve others which remain in a mutilated condition,

of the fourteenth century o£Fer the best examples of such middle-
class oligarchies.
' A similar list for Florence gives only seventy-six.

356 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

enable us to form some faint idea of what the city must
have looked like in the thirteenth century.

During the later years of the war with Frederick II.
we constantly hear of feuds between di£Ferent noble
families. The Tetalasini fought the Pepoli ; the Lamber-
tini fought the Scannabecchi ; the chronicles give long
lists of warring families, between whom peaces were
arranged by earnest monks w vigorous Podestas. In
spite of these quarrels the city remained constant in its
opposition to the Emperor. But soon after Frederick's
death the Bolognese, like many other communities,
showed that they were not inclined to give a blind
obedience to the Pope in matters affecting their own
immediate interests.

A Bolognese nobleman, Brancaleone degli Andalo,
had been made Senator of Rome, where he distinguished
himself by the severity with which he repressed the tur-
bulence of the nobles. The latter finally managed to
alienate from him the support of the mass of the people
and threw him into prison. He had, however, before
accepting office, taken the precaution of getting as
hostages members of some of the chief noble Roman
families, who had been sent to Bologna. His wife now
(1255) persuaded the Bolognese to put the hostages in
close captivity. This brought down on the city the
anger of Pope Alexander IV., to whom Brancaleone
was exceedingly obnoxious, and who laid the city
under an interdict The Degli Andalo had sufficient
influence to persuade the government to defy the Pope.
Their chief supporters in this matter were the powerful
family of the Lambertazzi. There were many of the
burghers, however, to whom a breach with the Church
was hateful, and they found natural leaders in the deadly
enemies of the Lambertazzi — the great House of the
Geremei.

In connection with the enmity between these two
houses the chroniclers recount the tragic^ story of
Bonifazio and Imelda, a Bolognese Romeo and Juliet.'

' It does not appear when (if ever) this tragedy took place ;
apparently the two families were already at variance.

GUELPS AND GHIBELUNES 357

BonifaziOy of the Geremei, loved the fair Imelda, of the
Lambertazzi^ and was secretly received by her in her
house. But a servant betrayed the secret to Imelda's
brothers, who, rushing to their sister's room, stabbed
Bonifazio with one of the poisoned daggers, of Eastern
make, which the Crusades had brought into use in Italy.
Then they dragged the body away to hide it in a deserted
spot. Imelda had fled at the noise of her brothers' entry.
Now she returned, and, following up the traces of blood,
she came to her lover's body. Life was not yet extinct ;
and Imelda, recognising the kind of weapon used, at-
tempted, in the only way known to her, to counteract
the effects of the poison. She tried to suck the venom
from the wound. But she only sacrificed her own life
without saving her lover's. The poison took effect on
her also, and she fell dead across Bonifazio's lifeless body.
Henceforward the hatred of the two families knew no
bounds, and in time all the nobles of Bologna ranged
themselves on one side or the other.

The quarrel with the Pope was brought to an end in
the same year by mutual concessions. But the people,
who, as we have already seen, had obtained in 1238 a
share in the government by a violent insurrection, seem
to have profited by the division among the aristocracy to
increase their power. The first Captain of the People
was created in 1255, and about the same time we hear of
certain ** Companies of Arms" whose duty seems to have
been to check the lawlessness of the nobles.' Alongside of
the Captain of the People there was the magistracy called
the Anziani, or Ancients, seventeen in number, elected
by the Companies of Arms and the guilds, as well as a
council of forty-two members, eight of whom were
chosen by the merchants and bankers, the others from
the other guilds and the Companies. There was also a
Council of the Credenza of the People, from which the
nobles were excluded. They were still eligible for the
Council of the Popolo provided they were enrolled in a
Company, or among the bankers and merchants.

In 1270 another step was taken against the nobles.
' These Companies originated about 1230 (Gaudenzi).

358 THB LOMBARD COMMUNES

They were shut out from the Companies of Arms, which,
together with the Arti, had by now got the chief share in
the government of the city.
These new arrangements did not stop the feuds. In

1258 there was a great battle in the city between the
Geremei and the Lambertazzi, besides innumerable
minor outbreaks. Another quarrel with the Pope
brought down a sentence of excommunication on the
city in 1259. The Geremei came forward decidedly as
partisans of the Pope ; the Lambertazzi and their faction
naturally drifted towards the Ghibellines. After another
year of street fighting the city was reconciled with the
Church, but internal tranquillity was not restored.

Robberies of shops by young nobles in want of money
and excitement,' quarrels over a lady's hand at a dance
or over a box on the ear given during a merrymaking
and spreading to a riot involving the whole city, a rising
of the shoemakers who set fire to the Palace of the
Podesti, a popular tumult against the Captain of the
People, the '' parties" at one another's throats in
the streets, make up the annals of Bologna for the next
few years. The exasperated people at length took severer
steps to curb the nobles. Special laws were passed to
curb them, and a '' Standard-Bearer of Justice" was
appointed to enforce these laws by armed force if neces-
sary. The '^magnates" were forbidden to enter the
palace of the government, or to go to their country
castles.

Up to this date Bologna had been Guelf in its foreign
policy. Now, however, the Lambertazzi, who had been
gradually drawing nearer to the Ghibellines, incited the
city to attack its old enemy Modena. The Modenese had
taken advantage of Bologna's quarrel with the Pope in

1259 to shake off the dependence in which they had been
since 1250. They had expelled their Ghibellines in 1265,
and these were carrying on war against the city from
their castles in the mountains. The Modenese Guelfs
attempted to ward off the impending onslaught by con-
cessions, but these were of no avail, and a large Bolog-

■ The young nobles were hanged.

GUELF8 AND GHIBELLINES 369

nese army captured a number of border castles. The
Modenese sought help from all the neighbouring Guelf
cities, and the reinforcements they thus obtained put
them on a level numerically with the Bolognese. In
Bologna itself the Geremei and all their party were
opposed to the war. They opened secret negotiations
with the Marquis of Este, so that the Lambertazzi, who
had prepared to attack Modena itself, grew afraid that if
they ]eft Bologna their rivals would seize the gates and
shut them out altogether. The projected attack on
Modena was abandoned, and the Bolognese directed
their energies against the turbulent cities of the
Romagna. An attempt to seize on Porli failed, this time
because the Lambertazzi were opposed to it.

Matters came to a head in 1274. The Geremei again
proposed to attack Forli, which was the centre of the
Ghibelline influence in Romagna. The Lambertazzi
came forward with a counter proposition to attack
Modena, and fell upon the Geremei. From all the
neighbouring Guelf cities contingents hurried to help |

the Geremei; Forli, Faenza, and the Ghibellines of
Romagna hastened to the aid of the Lambertazzi. But <

the people of Bologna seized the gates and beat back the 1

reinforcements of both parties. Then they turned on the
contending nobles and forced them to lay aside their
arms. I

As soon as peace was made the Geremei brought the
Carroccio into the great square, and called on the people 1

to follow them against Forli. The Lambertazzi rushed I

to attack the Carroccio. For forty days, according to
one account, a battle raged in the piazza, and round the
towers and palaces of Bologna. The majority of the
people finally sided with the Geremei, and the Lamber-
tazzi were forced to abandon the city. More than twelve
thousand persons were driven into exile, and took the
road to Faenza.

More than half the noble families of Bologna had been
expelled; henceforth the people were supreme in the
city. The remaining nobles were shut out from any
share in the government. The '' Sacred Ordinances"

360 THE LOMBARD COMBfUNBS

passed in 1282 were intended to put a stop once for all to
the private feuds of the nobles, and to the excesses of
which they were still guilty towards the lower orders.
The nobles were subjected to a special code of laws,
under which their slightest misdeeds were rigorously
punished. The Companies of Arms and the guilds were
brought into close connection with one another, and the
government of the republic passed entirely into the hands
of their members*'

Machiavelli says of a similar exclusion of the nobles
from the government of Florence that it led to the decay
of the martial spirit of the city. The nobles no longer
cared to serve in war a fatherland which excluded them
from all dignities and subjected them to a rigorous penal
code. The people were forced to hire foreign mer-
cenaries to fill up the ranks of the cavalry, which was
rapidly becoming by far the most important arm in war-
fare. And as the smaller merchants, the shopkeepers and
the artisans, who supplied the infantry, were naturally
disinclined to leave their occupations to serve for any
length of time in the field, the burgher infantry, too, was
soon replaced by mercenaries.

In Bologna the expulsion of more than half the nobles
was at once accompanied by a marked diminution of the
fighting power of the Commune.^ In a great battle at
the bridge of San Procolo in 1275 against Forli and
Faenza and the exiled Lambertazzi,the Bolognese cavalry
were driven off the field. Most of the infantry then took
to flight Four thousand of the Bolognese foot, how-
ever, closed round the Carroccio and refused to fly. The
victorious army brought their war machines to bear on
them, and forced them to yield themselves prisoners*
The Bolognese admitted to two thousand killed and
wounded and five thousand five hundred prisoners. The

' At this time there were nineteen guilds (including bankers and
merchants) and nineteen Companies. The bakers, tavern keepers,
and many other trades were excluded from the privileged guilds in
Bologna.

* One hundred and four Ghibelline and ninety-two Guelf families
— all or mostly noble— are named by the chronicler.

GUELPS AND GHIBELLINES 361

chronicler of Forli declares that more than three thou-
sand Bolognese besides a great number of their allies
lost their lives. In 1296 or 1297 Bologna lost more than
two thousand prisoners in another disastrous battle with
the Ghibellines of Romagna. The commanding position
which she had held in that province was completely lost.'

But though popular rule in Bologna led to disasters
abroad, yet under it the city preserved its liberty longer
than almost any other Commune in Lombardy. Not
until 1337 was the popular constitution replaced by the
rule of a despot.

The chief event in the general history of Lombardy
during the next few years after Pelavicini's downfall was
the attempt made by Charles of Anjou to establish him-
self as ruler of the Guelf cities. Piacenza, Parma,
Reggio, Modena, Cremona, Brescia, and Alessandria
chose him as '' Signore," a title which in this case seems
chiefly to have conferred on him the right of appointing
the Podest^ and directing the foreign policy of the state.
His e£Forts to bring Milan under his sway led him into a
certain opposition to the Torriani ; but outwardly peace
was maintained, and Milan, and no doubt other cities,
enjoyed during these years a full share of the prosperity
which such an unusual state of things brought with it.^

Meanwhile the war with the exiled Milanese nobles
smouldered on. Archbishop Otto could not or would
not venture within the walls of the city ; and the efforts
of Pope Gregory X., who passed through Milan in 1272,
failed to bring about a pacification. Pavia, left without

' "Read your statutes, miserable populace I" cried the Count of
Panico on one occasion, as he saw the burgher infantry flying in
confusion. The Bolognese rarely were successful in pitched battles.
Their wealth and population gave them predominance over their
neighbours.

' A revolt, of Lodi against the Delia Torre was almost the only
interruption to this tranquillity. The city was taken by storm, and
two towers were built by the Torriani to hold it in check.

During the years after 1270 we read of important public works
undertaken in several cities. In Milan Napoleone della Torre paved
the streets ; in Parma and Reggio public buildings were erected,
bridges built, canals excavated.

362 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

allies^ bad been forced to sue for peace with the Guelf
cities. Many of the Milanese nobles had come to terms
with the Torriani ; Napoleone, the head of the family,
had been recognised by the new Emperor Rudolf of
Habsburg as his vicar in Milan ; and the situation of the
exiles appeared hopeless, when a revolution in Come
gave them a secure place of refuge, and brought at>out a
change which enabled the Ghibelline faction once more
to raise its head in the valley of the Po.

In Como, as we have seen, there had been a long-
standing quarrel between nobles and people. This city,
like Bergamo and Brescia, lies just on the edge of the
Lombard plain, and the territory subject to these cities
extended through a labyrinth of sub-alpine valleys right
up to the high ranges of the St. Gothard and the Ortler.
The feudal lords, if driven from the towns to their castles
in these valleys, were able to defy with comparative im-
punity all the e£Forts of the people to subdue them;
hence a success of the popular party had for its imme-
diate result the loss of practically the whole Contado.
In these cities, therefore, the nobles succeeded in retain-
ing great power, in spite of the support given by the
Torriani to the popular party.

Now the Rusconi, chiefs of the nobles, once more
seized on the government of Como, and that city became
at once a rallying-point for the exiles from Milan.x En-
couraged by this, Pavia once more appeared in the field
in support of the Ghibellines ; so did Asti ; the Marquis
William of Montferrat, abandoning the Guelfs, joined
himself to them ; and in Novara, where the Torriani had
selfishly allowed Guelfs and Ghibellines to fight out their
quarrels unhindered, hoping to bring the city, weakened
by feuds, more completely under their power, an unex-
pected victory of the latter lost that city, too, to the Guelf
cause. The new allies soon got possession of Alessandria
and Alba, which had of late been subject to Charles of

* In 1264 the Rusconi, at the head of the nobles, had tried to
expel the opposite faction, the Vitani. Filippo deila Torre had
driven them out, and then ruled the city by means of his brother
Raimondo, Bishop of Como, and the Vitani.

GUELPS AND GHIBELLINES 363

Anjou, and the Delia Torre saw their power threatened
from outside, while in Milan discontent with their rule
was rapidly increasing.'

The war that followed was at first unfavourable to the
Ghibellines. In land and naval fights, around and on
the waters of Lago Maggiore and in the district of Seprio,
the Delia Torre obtained several striking victories.

They abused their success by executing the Milanese
nobles who fell into their hands. Amongst them was
a nephew of Archbishop Otto; and this provoked the
prelate, who of late had taken no active part in the
contest, to come forward again as head of the exiles.
His energy and his constancy, even after new defeats,
gave fresh vigour to his party, while the Torriani were
more and more losing the favour of the populace of
Milan, who were suffering from the high taxation incident
to the war. Finally, in 1277, undeterred by previous
defeats, the exiles and the forces of Como advanced
on Milan itself. Napoleone drew out a small force to
stop them; for disaffection had reached such a point
in the city that he dared not withdraw all his troops.
Rendered careless by previous victories, he suffered
himself to be surprised in the night at the village of
Desio. The victory of the Ghibellines was complete;
many of the Delia Torre were slain, Napoleone himself
with five of his near relatives were captured, and only
Cassone, Napoleone's son, who had not been present at
the fight, escaped to Milan.

Here he found all in uproar, and the mob engaged
in plundering the palaces of the Delia Torre. He slew
many of these; but finding it hopeless to attempt to
maintain himself in the city, he escaped at nightfall with
such of his cavalry as still adhered to him. Lodi, to
which he first fled, refused to receive him, so did Cremona,
finally he found shelter in Parma.

The captured Delia Torre were shut up by the
Comasques in cages in the castle of Baradello, the lofty

* According to Leo the exact chronology of the revolt of Como
from the Guelf s and the new uprising of the Ghibelline power is not
very certain.

364 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

ruins of which are familiar to all travellers from Como
to Milan. Archbishop Otto was received with loud
acclamations by the people, and was chosen unanimously
as lord of the city by the Great Council. For the first
time in its history Milan was definitely Ghibelline.

The other Guelf cities seem to have given little or
no support in these years to the Delia Torre ; but now
the loss of Milan adarmed them all, and once more
a general war ensued between the two factions in
Lombardy. A brother of Napoleone, Raimondo, had
some years before been made Patriarch of Aquileia.
The Patriarchs of Aquileia, placed on the borders between
the lands of the Italian and those of the German kingdom,
had been specially favoured by the Emperors, who hoped,
by their means, always to have an open road into Italy.
They had become rulers of a most extensive territory,
embnracing the greater part of the modern Friuli ; and
as, unlike their brother prelates of Italy proper, they had
to contend with no large cities in these regions, they
had become the equals, if not the superiors, in power,
not only of the ecclesiastical princes of Germany, but
also of all but the greatest lay lords as well. Raimondo
now actively helped his nephew Cassone; and the
edifying sight was presented of the two leading eccle-
siastics in North Italy at the head of the party of the
Popes and of the Emperors respectively.

On the Guelf side were Cremona, Brescia, Piacenza,
and the other cities south of the Po, including Bologna
and Ferrara. A sudden attack gave them possession
of Lodi in 1278, and this city and the neighbourhood
were for the next few years the scene of operations
between the two factions. At the head of the Ghibellines,
alongside of Otto, stood William of Montferrat, who
was elected in 1278 captain of the military forces of
Pavia, Milan, Vercelli, Como, Novara, Asti, Casale,
Alessandria, and Tortona. Besides these cities, where
his power was chiefly military, he had been chosen as
Signore of Turin, Ivrea, and Crema, and even the
Ghibelline lords of Verona and Mantua appointed him
as captain of their troops. Such an extensive power

GUELP8 AND GHIBELUNES 365

had never yet been concentrated in the hands of one
man in Lombardy.

By a curious change we now find Cremona, once
so devoted to the cause of the Empire, the champion
of the Guelfs, together with Parma, which had for long
enjoyed internal peace under the wise rule of her middle
classes, and which seems during this period to have been
looked on as holding the chief rank among the cities
of the Church party. Milan, always Papal till now,
henceforth leads the Imperial party. But we must notice
that these names had by this time lost nearly all signi-
ficance, and served but as pretexts for enmity. Rudolf
of Habsburg, elected Emperor in 1273, was on the most
friendly terms with the pontiffs, to whom he had definitely
surrendered all claims of the Empire to* the lands included
in the Donation of Pepin. In other words, he first
definitely recognised the independence of the states
of the Church. Moreover, the Popes who reigned from
1 27 1 to 1280, and Nicholas IV., who reigned from 1288
to 1292, on the whole strove to reconcile the two parties,
or at least to hold the balance even. Guelf and Ghibelline,
then, now only meant in Lombardy the factions of Delia
Torre and Visconti.'

In one way the war which ensued marks an improve-
ment in Italian affairs. The hostile parties formed two
fairly solid groups, on one side the cities of Piedmont
and the west of Lombardy proper; on the other
those south of the Po and from the Adda to the Mincio.^
The flame of war was concentrated along one line ; it
was no longer sporadic over the whole country as in the
days when Milan was at death-grips with her neighbours
of Como, Lodi, and Novara, when Piacenza fought
against Parma, Brescia against Bergamo, Mantua against
Verona. The material gain of this new state of affairs
it is evident must have been enormous.

It would be tedious to recount the war that followed.

' Giovanni Villani calls Nicholas IV. a Ghibelline.

' Veropa and Mantua formed a detached Ghibelline group in
the east ; they seem to have been in a state of smouldering hostility
to Parma and Ferrara.

366 THE LOMBABD COMMUNES

It was at first centred round Lodi; then, after Lodi»
early in 1282, had been forced to make peace with Milan,
without, however, abandoning the party of the Church,
operations were chiefly carried on in the districts of
Crema and Cremona. Our old friend, Buoso da Doara,
reappears for a short time as ruler of Crema, which he
had captured, and also as master of Soncino in the
Contado of Cremona.'

The only noticeable event is a ^eat defeat of the
Torriani, near Vaprio in 1281, in which Cassone was
slain, and which caused the effacement, for some time
at least, of their family.

Already the two leagues had shown signs of breaking
up. Archbishop Otto had been forced in 1278 to accept
William of Montferrat as lord of Milan for ten years.^
Now without William's consent Milan made peace with
Brescia, Cremona, and Piacenza, and a few months later
Otto expelled William's Podesta from Milan, and was
himself once more chosen as Signore.3

The affairs of Lombardy seem again to relapse into
confusion. Milan, Brescia, Cremona, and Piacenza form
a league, neither strictly Guelf nor Ghibelline. As,
however, the three latter cities still remained closely
united with the other Guelf states, we may suppose that
peace now prevailed over the east of Lombardy proper.
On the other hand. Otto was now an enemy of Montferrat ;
and finally, in 1284, William openly declared himself
on the side of the Torriani.

We have already had occasion to mention various
acquisitions made by the Marquis William Longsword
of Montferrat. His career, like those of E^zelino and
Oberto Pelavicini, offers a striking illustration of the

' Muratori, however, suggests that this Biioso was a son or
nephew of the former lord of Cremona.

' WtUiam was given power of making war and peace at his
pleasure, and was granted " la plena dominazione e signoria con
mero e misto impero e omnimoda ginrisdizione dt essa dtta di
Milano per x. anni" (''Corio/' cit. by Saker, p. 212).

s The great tower of Cremona was built in commemoration of
this peace.

(

(to

GUELFS AND GHIBBLLINES 367

chances of self-advancement which Italy presented to
those capable of seizing on them.

In the north-west angle of Italy feudalism had to a
great extent held its ground against the encroachments
of the cities. Already the House of Savoy, from the
watershed between France and Italy, had begun that
descent into Piedmont which was in our own day to
lead it to Rome and Naples. Of minor princes, such
as the Marquises of Saluzzo, of Ceva, of Carretto, the
Lancia, there were many who held the mountains which
separate Piedmont from the Ligurian coast.

The Marquises of Montferrat were the most powerful
of all the feudal lords in these districts. The hill,
country, which rises like an island between the valleys
of the Upper Po and the Tanaro, formed the nucleus
Of their territory, but their rule extended over many
outlying regions. The cities to the north, Casale, Vercelli,
and Ivrea, and to the west, Turin and Chieri, were
none of them of sufficient power to interfere with the
House of Montferrat. To the south the powerful Asti —
which numbered in the thirteenth century some sixty
thousand inhabitants — ^hemmed them in. The founda-
tion of Alessandria at the south-east angle of their
dominions, which was meant to hold them in check,
served rather to increase their power, by weakening Asti.
To the east lay the extensive territory of Pavia, but that
city had enough occupation nearer home to prevent
any desire for adventure in the hill country across
the Po.

The Crusades brought great glory to the rulers of
Montferrat In the Fourth Crusade one of them acquired
the kingdom of Thessalonica and some territories in the
Balkan Peninsula remained to his descendants as late
as 1284.

For long the Marquises of Montferrat had been
partisans of the House of Hohenstaufen ; but William
Longsword, who, while still a boy,' had succeeded to the

' In 1253. His first wife was an English princess, daughter of
Richard Earl of Gloucester. After her death he married, in 1271,
a daughter of King Alfonso of CastiUe.

368 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

headship of the family, showed throu^ all his life a
facility for sudden changes of party which seems to
prove that he had formed the idea, by helping both
factions in tmn, of becoming the arbiter of all the
surrounding districts. In fact, he seems to have formed
the plan of utilising the party strife which distracted the
neighbouring cities in order to bring them all under his
rule, and thus to found a feudal sovereignty comparable
to that possessed by the great vassate of the French
Crown. This policy might have succeeded if he had
adopted the prudent course, afterwards so successfully
carried out by the House of Savoy, of confining his efforts
to Piedmont, and incorporating one city thoroughly with
his dominions before attempting to absorb the next
But his ambition led him too far ; he mixed himself in
all the intrigues that distracted Central Lombardy, and
his attempts to hold the great cities of Milan and Pavia
only prevented him from achieving a lasting success
nearer home.

His first opportunity came in 1260, when the Guelf
exiles of Alessandria, the party of the Trotti, offered him
the lordship of their city in return for his help against
the dominant faction, the Ghibelline Lanzavecchia. He
expelled the latter, and in return received the fealty of
the Guelfs, who not only chose him as Captain of the
city, but also made over to him the city and its territory,
which he handed back to them, to be henceforth held by
the burghers as a fief of Montferrat Acqui and Tortona
followed the example of Alessandria.

His first attempt on Alessandria was followed by
failure, for in 1262 the Lanzavecchia recovered the city,
and handed it over to Ol>erto Pelavicini, who also got
possession of Tortona. At this time William appears on
friendly terms with King Manfred; but in 1264 he joined
himself more closely with the Guelfs and Charles of
Anjou.

Two years later he won Turin from the Ghibelline
House of Savoy ; and in the same year Ivrea gave itself
to him on much the same terms as Alessandria had done.
On the fall of Pelavicini, Alessandria, after some years of

GUELP8 AND GHIBELLINE8 369

confusion, gave itself to Charles of Anjou^ ; and as this
prince seemed likely to bring a great part of Piedmont
under his rule, William began to detach himself from his
party and to approach the Ghibellines.

He had already recovered Tortona, but lost it again
after a few years. Now he negotiated with the Lanza-
vecchia, in order by their help to recover Alessandria.
He regained this city, where the factions had been raging
with peculiar violence, but it was by the help of his old
allies the Trotti, and on terms more restricted than had
been the case eighteen years before. He had now been
for some time in close alliance with the Visconti and the
Ghibellines of Milan, and he used the opportunity to
recall the Lanzavecchia, so as to rule by the mutual
jealousy of both parties. Pavia and Asti were his allies ;
in 1274 the Ghibellines of Novara had called him in
against the Delia Torre ; he was fast becoming the most
powerful personage in North Italy.

The general war which broke out between the Ghibel-
line cities and those which supported the Delia Torre
added immensely to his power. Vercelli chose him as
war-captain for ten years ; he recovered Tortona, Ivrea,
and Acqui, and finally the confederated Ghibellines,
Milan, Pavia, Asti, Novara, Como, Casale, and Genoa,
chose him as war-captain for five years. The power con-
ferred by this title differed, most probably, in the various
cities; in some William was nearly absolute ruler, in
others his authority was limited to military matters. But
in one way or other he now ruled over all the cities from
the western Alps to the Adda.

In Milan itself the exigencies of the war and the
initial successes of the Torriani forced Otto Visconti to
resign, outwardly at least, all power into his hands ; and
Alessandria first increased his jimsdiction, then made
him hereditary lord. The acquisition of Crema extended
his rule to the east ; but in the same year (1280) he lost
Turin to its rightful owner, the Count of Savoy. His
operations as general of the Ghibellines brought him

« In 1359 several small towns. Alba, Cuneo, Montevico, Savigliano,
and Chierasco had chosen Charles as Signore.

370 THE LOMBARD COMMUNBS

little credit ; indeed, he seems to have had no capacity as
a leader of large t>odies of troops in the field. In
thirteenth-century Italy, far in advance of the rest of
Europe, statecraft already counted for more than personal
valour or military skill. His want of toccess against the
Guelfs afforded Visconti a chance of getting rid of such
a dangerous ally ; his Podesti and troops were expelled
from Milan, as we have already said, and this naturally
caused him to break away from Visconti.

Events in Como soon gave William a chance of aiming
a blow at his former ally.

The traveller who from the Saint Gothard railway
looks down at the present day at the cheerful little town,
nestling peacefully between the hills at the extremity of
its blue lake, finds it hard to realise the fierce passions
which distracted Como in the Middle Ages and the
warlike inclinations of its inhabitants. For some years
the Rusconi had ruled the city as allies of Visconti and
Montferrat ; now discord arose among the Rusconi them-
selves, and William saw in it a chance of revenge on
Visconti. The escape from Barradello of one of the
captive Delia Torre, evidently with the connivance of
some of the Rusconi, was the first evidence of the new
state of affairs. Soon the mask was plainly thrown off.
The surviving Torriani — ^two had died of the rigours of
their imprisonment — ^were released ; Como became the
headquarters of the Delia Torre family, and at once
entered into war against Milan.

We must feel surprised at the boldness with which
small towns such as Como ventured to embark in war
against vastly more powerful neighbours. But in reality
the risks were not so very great. The strongly walled
cities of the time were almost impregnable against assault.
At any rate, we scarcely ever find examples of any such
attempt in the Italian warfare of the time. In all proba-
bility the undisciplined city levies were not of any use for
such purposes Famine, then, was the only means —
omitting treachery — of reducing a walled town. But
until the introduction in the next age of standing mer-
cenary forces, it was quite beyond the power of one city.

GUELFS AND QHIBELUNES 371

even if as great as Milan, to completely blockade another.
The merchants and artisans who formed the bulk of the
infantry could not remain in the field long enough to
starve out a neighbouring town, without utter ruin to
their business at home. Hence warfare between two
cities at this period usually meant a series of raids on one
another's territory, until one or both grew tired of the
devastation suffered, and a peace of some kind was
patched up.

The war which now ensued between William of Mont-
f errat and the Visconti ran the usual course. The country
parts were devastated, truces were arranged for longer or
shorter intervals ; more than once peace was made, to be
broken almost immediately. Nothing, in fact, can be
more tedious than the story of the campaigns of this
period. The main principle of strategy was not so much
to attempt to overthrow one's enemy in a pitched battle.
It was rather to avoid anything like a decisive engage-
ment ; generals relied more on diplomacy than on arms
to achieve any considerable success.

In this war we find a rather puzzling mixture of parties.
The Visconti were helped by the Guelf towns of Piacenza,
Cremona, and Brescia; on the other side was Montferrat
with the towns Alessandria, Como, Novara, Tortona,
Vercelli, Ivrea, and other smaller ones which he ruled
partly by the support of the Guelfs, partly of the Ghibel-
lines, and the Guelf Delia Torre. In 1289 matters seemed
about to come to a decisive issue. Asti and Pavia, no
longer subject to William, had joined the party of
Visconti, and the combined Milanese and Pavesans drew
out to protect the latter city from a threatened attack.
Pavia had for some time su£Fered from the usual internal
conflicts. The people here were ardent Ghibellines ; the
nobles, headed by the family of Langusco, turned to the
Guelf side, and entered into negotiations with Montferrat.
While the two armies faced one another, the Languschi
contrived to enter the city, and proclaimed William as
Signore. The Pavesan troops hastened home, and the
heads of the popular faction, the Beccheria, attempted to
secure their position by proposing to extend the term of

372 THE LOMBARD OOMICUNBS

William's rule from ten years, as proposed by the noUes^
to a lifelong lordship. An attempt of the Milanese to
seize the city in the confusion which prevailed had no
success, and the Beccheria and their supporters found it
prudent to take refuge in the open country, where liiey
seized several castles, and helped by Milan and Piaoenta
carried on hostilities with the opposite party.

Next year William's career came to an end as sudden
as unexpected. The people of Asti had raised a faction
in Alessandria unfavourable to Montferrat ; the Marquis
hastened to the latter city to suppress the disa£Eection.
The people suddenly rose against him. His heavy
cavalry were useless in the narrow streets, he himself was
captured and imprisoned in an iron cage, where in less
than two years he died from shame and suflFering.
Readers of the ^'Purgatorio'' will remember that Sordello
shows to Dante in Canto VI L William the Marquis

''who occasion lent
To Alexandria that fell war to move
The Canavese and Montferrat lament."'

The fall of William of Montferrat gave an immense
increase to the power of Visconti. Novara and Vercelli
chose Matteo Visconti, Otto's nephew, now the leader of
the family, as lord for five years. In Como the Vitani
rose against the Rusconi ; and the latter, too weak to
stand alone, called Matteo to their help. In 1292 he
was made Captain of the People for five years, and seems
to have ruled wisely, pacifying the tiwbI factions. The
young Marquis of Montferrat, Giovanni, was forced in
order to save his dominions, threatened by Asti, Ales-
sandria, and Savoy, to put himself under Matteo's
guardianship; and Alessandria, still torn by factions^
sought peace by choosing the ruler of Milan as Captain.
From this period we may date the greatness of the House
of Visconti.*

' Wrighfs translation.

' The Beccheria recovered Psivia» so that city beeame allied to
Milan. In 1999 the lAngu^ochi again got the upper hand.

GUELFS AND GHIBELLINEB 373

The next few years were, on the whole, years of quiet
in Central Lombardy. The Visconti strengthened their
position by obtaining from Adolph of Nassau, then
German king, the title of Imperial Vicar. But Matteo,
cleverer than the Delia Torre, pretended to accept the
o£Bce only at the petition of the Council of the city.
At the same time he was re-elected for five years as
Captain of the People.'

Peace was broken for a time by a fresh attempt of the
Torriani to recover their power, aided by Lodi and Cre-
mona. The people of Lodi were soon forced to ask tor
I^eace, and the Torriani retired again from Lombardy.

More important was a quarrel between Padua and the
Marquis of Este. Parma, Piacenza and Bologna, all
Guelf cities, joined in attacking the Marquis. The old
unity of the Guelf party was destroyed, and Bologna was
brought into relations with the Visconti, who were allies
of Psuma and Piacenza.

In the meantime the Marquis Giovanni of Montferrat
was growing up, and was eager to take up the quarrel of
his house with the Visconti. He found an ally in Pavia,
once more under the rule of the Guelf faction headed by
the Count of Langusco. Aided by the Marquis of Saluzzo,
he had captured and sacked Asti in 1296. Three years
later he recovered Casale, and expelled the Ghibellines
from Novara and Vercelli. A great league was now
formed against the Visconti, in which Bergamo, Crema,
Cremona, and Este joined. But Matteo was helped not
only by the Ghibelline La Scala, but also by Parma
Brescia, Piacenza, and Bologna. His skilful diplomacy
brought about a breach among his opponents, and the
league came to nothing. Peace was made towards the
end of 1299, and was cemented by a marriage between
Matteo's son Galeazzo and Beatrice, sister of Azzo of
Este. The greater part of Lombardy was now under
the control of men who, while gaining power as heads
of one party or the other, were for the moment all in

' Matteo carefully preserved the semblance of popular rule. His
office of Captain of the People was prolonged from time to time by
pc^nlar vote.

874 THE LOMBARD OOMUUNES

alliance. The next year passed without any conflict of
importance.

Both Este and Visconti appear during the last ten years
of this century in a curious double relation to the Guelf
and Ghibelline parties. Azzo VIII. of Este, though a
supporter of the Delia Torre, was at war with the Guelf
Padua, Parma, and Bologna. He allied himself with the
Ghibellines of Romagna and the exiled Lambertazzi, and
with their help gained a great victory over Bologna in
1296. Against Padua he was less successful. The old
seat of his family, Este, was captured by the Paduans, as
well as his other fortresses in the Euganean hills, and by
treaty in or about 1294 he resigned to Padua his posses-
sions north of the Adige.

The Visconti, both Otto, who died in 1295, and his
nephew and successor, Matteo, were in close alliance
with Parma and Piacenza, where the Guelfs were
supreme, and with the Rangoni and other Guelf families
of Modena who were now in exile.

During these years Pavia had l>een steadily declining
in power. In the early days of the Visconti rule in Milan
we find the two old rivals leagued together, one may say
for the first time, and at war with Cremona, now the bul-
wark of the Guelfs. But soon factions between nobles
and people, for a long time smouldering, broke out with
violence ; the nobles were expelled once and again, and
sought aid from the Guelfs ; the people, headed by the
Beccheria, were supported by Milan. We have seen how
this led to the capture of the city by Montferrat in 1289.

The old enemies of Pavia the Piacentines seized the
chance, under pretext of aiding the Beccheria then in
exile, of inflicting great damage on their rivals. They
wasted the territory, took many castles, and in one raid
went so far as to seize the wooden bridge across the
Ticino, the predecessor of the present picturesque roofed
structure from which the visitor enjoys such a charming
view of the old city, and towed it off down the river,
meaning to set it up as a trophy in Piacenza. After
dragging the bridge twelve miles they had to abandon
it, and the Pavesans, unable to tow it home, burned it

The Castle of Estb.

^ace page 374.

GUELFS AND GHIBELUNES 375

Weakened by foes external and internal, the city seems
now to have steadily declined, and from the rival to have
become a mere satellite of Milan. It is hard to account
for this decay : the situation is suited for commerce, the
territory subject to the city was large and fertile. Milan,
however, was more of an industrial centre ; Pavia drew
its wealth in great measure from agriculture. Constant
warfare, with its accompanying depredations, would
inflict more lasting damage on agriculturists, who would
lose all their possessions in one raid,' than it would on
a population living by their manufactures, in the shelter
of the city walls. Even in the most troubled times out-
lets for manufactures would still be open ; and as cities
at this period were scarcely ever taken by force the
artisan and merchant had only to dread civil war. Milan
was on the whole free from this during the later thirteenth
century ; Pavia, on the other hand, suffered severely.

One can hardly imagine a greater contrast than that
which presents itself at the present day when we take the
train that in half an hour conducts us from Milan to
Pavia. We pass from the bustling streets, the incessant
clang of tram bells, the magnificent shops, the four
hundred thousand people of the Manchester of Italy to
a quiet country town, set about with trees, which seems
to sleep by the side of its river. The streets are silent,
almost deserted; everything speaks of repose. In one
corner rise three gaunt, ungainly medieval towers, a relic
of the days when Pavia boasted three hundred such, the
pride and defence of her noble families, when there were
more than one hundred and thirty churches within the
walls, when the city could send out to war two or three
thousand horse and fifteen thousand foot, when Messer
Torello d' Istria feasted the Saladin.a

There is still one great hour reserved for Pavia. Like
her sister Ghibelline cities Pisa and Siena, Pavia when
power had slipped away from her at least knew how to

' The territory of Pavia suffered dreadfully from the ravages of
the Piacentines in 1290. Finally, the Beccheria were restored and
peace was made ("Chronicon Parmense/' Muratori, vol. ix.).

' Boccaccioi novella 99.

376 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

die. Not hers the slow century long decay of Lucca,
the tame sinking into slavery of Milan, the struggles, half
frenzied half heroic, of Florence against the impending
tyrants' yoke. When her time was come, when Uie knell
of her freedom sounded, her citizens, men and women,
stood forth and manned their walls as long as strength
would last They had to yield to unequal odds ; but at
least they might say with the king ^ose name is for
ever coupled with their city, ^Tout est perdu fors
rhonneur/'

But at the end of the thirteenth century every city,
prosperous or declining, Guelf or Ghibelline, was
threatened by the steady approach of an apparently
irresistible fate. In each we see looming up the figure
of the Tyrant.

CHAPTER XIII

THE RISE OF THE TYRANNIES— THE COMING OF
HENRY OF LUXEMBURG

We have seen more than once in the last chapter how
some cities, to protect themselves from outside attack, or
to secure internal peace, or else how a dominant faction
to strengthen itself against its rivals, had entrusted for
a longer or shorter period the supreme direction of affairs
to one man. Such a head of the state, whether he held
the office of Podest^, or of Captain of the People, or of
leader in war, is constantly spoken of under the title
of Signore or Lord, and his rule is called Lordship—
Signoria.

Originally elected by the free choice of the people or a
section of them, the invariable tendency of such a ruler
was to gather all power into his hands, to dispense with
popular approval, to prolong his term of office for life, and
finally to transmit to his descendants the dominion he
had thus acquired. The constitutional Signore shakes off
all restraints and becomes the Despot

The years remaining to be dealt with by our history are
chiefly taken up with the extinction of all republican
liberties in the Lombard cities. It will be well, then, to
give here a brief survey of the rise of the despots during
the later years of the thirteenth century.

Symonds has entitled the first volume of his '' Renais-
sance in Italy " the '^ Age of the Despots,'' and has drawn
in it a vivid picture of the Italian tyrants of the fourteenth
and fifteenth centuries. He gives them the name of
tyrants, using the word in its Greek sense ; for as he says :
** Their title was illegitimate — ^based, that is to say, on no

SIT

378 TED! LOMBARD COMMUNES

feudal principle, derived in no regular manner from the
Empire, but generally held as a gift or extorted as a prize
from the predominant parties in the great towns/'

He distinguishes between six sorts of these despots.
But two of these, the Condottieri or leaders of hired
soldiers, and the nephews or sons of Popes, do not appear
in Lombardy until the fifteenth century, and a third —
wealthy citizens who gradually enslaved their country by
the power of their riches— only appears in isolated cases
in Lombardy.

His first class comprises feudal princes ruling over
their dominions by hereditary right Examples of this
are the sway of the House of Savoy in Turin and Aosta,
of the Marquises of Montferrat in Casale, of the Marquises
of Este in Este and the district between I^ua and Ferrara,
to which latter city they soon extended their rule. But
these rulers, few in number, cannot properly be called
tyrants. They ruled by legitimate hereditary right ; and
it is to be remarked that their history is for the most part
unsullied by the crimes which stain the annals of the
other despotic rulers over Lombardy.

The two remaining classes as given by Symonds really
embrace nearly all the rulers of Lombardy. They are
first ^' those nobles who obtained the title of Vicars of the
Empire, and built an illegal power upon the basis of
Imperial right in Lombardy " ; and second '' Nobles (who)
charged with military or judicial power, as Capitani or
Podestas, by the free burghs, used their authority to
enslave the cities they were chosen to administer." Here
we must observe that there was no real di£Ference between
these two classes. The Visconti, whom he cites as
examples of the first, obtained supreme power in Milan
as leaders of the aristocratic faction, before ever they
received the title of Imperial Vicar. Besides, these rulers
were by no means all nobles. The Delia Scala in par-
ticular seem to have been of very low origin.

We can perhaps improve on Symonds by sajring that
despotism arose from supreme power being entrusted
to one man, either a powerful citizen, or less often a
foreigner, either to conduct a foreign war, or to secure

THE RISE OP THE TYRANNIES 379

the predominance of one faction in the state, or — a very
frequent case — ^to impose peace on contending parties.
*' The fount of honour, so to speak, was in the citizens of
these great burghs. Therefore, when the limits of
authority delegated to their Captains by the people were
overstepped, the sway of the princes became confessedly
illegal. Illegality carried with it all the consequences of
an evil conscience, all the insecurities of usurped
dominion, all the danger from without and from within
to which an arbitrary Governor is exposed." Symonds
goes on to point out that 'despotism in Italy as in
ancient Greece was democratic. It recruited its ranks
from all classes and erected its thrones upon the sove-
reignty of the peoples it oppressed."

We must remember, however, and so remembering
may explain the ease with which despotism established
itself, that the tyrant at least gave internal tranquillity.
Horrible as were the crimes of Bernab6 or Filippo Maria
Visconti, it is doubtful if they caused as widespread ruin
as did the expulsion of twelve thousand people from
Bologna by the victorious Guelfs in 1274, or the ten
violent revolutions, each accompanied by massacre,
pillage, and arson, which took place in Ferrara in the
space of forty years.

Ferrari brings out clearly the dominant note in the
character of the first Italian despots. ^'A party leader,
soldier in a perpetual war, proscriber and devastator by
necessity, he takes his rise at the moment of massacres,
when palaces are rased by hundreds, when the city bell
tower rings out the death of fugitives, when the goods of
one-half of the citizens are confiscated, when war growing
more fierce requires the victorious party to be disciplined
more and more, steady in its ranks, one in its movements,
and above all subject to a single head." < |

A recent work by Salzer, ** The Commencements of j

Despotic Rule in Upper Italy," gives a clear and
comprehensive account of the manner in wljiich the
rule of one man substituted itself for the older free
institutions. According to him it was above all the
* *' Revolutions d' Italic/' vol. iiL p. 4.

380 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

need for restoring order in communities torn by puty
strife that led to the concentration of all power in
the hands of one person. But this ruler could only
attain his end at first by standing forward as champion
of one faction. ^The first Signori attained power as
leaders of one party^ and were able to maintain them-
selves only by the complete overthrow of the opposite
side.'' > It is later on, when their authority rests on a
firm ba«s, that the despots appear as fairly impartial
rulers. At first they secure peace by the destruction of
all opposed to their own faction.

Salzer traces the growth of despotism from four
republican offices. They are that of Podesta of the
Commune, that of Podesti of the Merchants, that of
Captain or Ancient of the People — an office closely
connected with the preceding— finally that of War-
captain. These offices, originally all annual, began to
be granted for a term of years, then for life, finally
they were made hereditary, and all restrictions on their
functions removed. The Stgnore also tried to legitimise
his power by obtaining the title of Imperial or Papal
Vicar; and, last step of all, came the grant of the
title of Dtike or Marquis with a regular feudal investi-
ture by Emperor or Pope of his dominions, thus
admitting the despot into the circle of the l^itimate
princes of the Empire.

Ferrara offers us the earliest example of a city coming
under the rule of one man. Although the document
which professes to record the grant of the hereditary
and unlimited lordship of the city to Azso VI. of Este
in 1208 is most probably a forgery of later date, yet
Ferrara seems to have been governed between 1195 and
1 21 2 by Azzo and his rival, Salinguerra Torelli, in turn,
according as one faction or the other obtained the upp^
hand in the much-distracted city. These leaders either
held the office of Podesta themselves, or conferred it
on one of their followers, while themselves keeping
the real power. For a time, then, Salinguerra and Azzo's
son and successor, Aldrovandino, divided the govem-
' Salzer, "Ober die Anfaage dsr Stgnorie in Oberitalien,'' p, 26.

THE RISE OF THE TYRANNIES 881

ment and together appointed the Podesta. Aldrovandino
died in 1215 ; and thenceforth Salinguerra ruled, with
some interruptions, till 1240. He seems to have held
no municipal office during these years, contenting him«
self with the substance of power, directing the foreign
policy of Ferrara, and selecting the Podest^ and other
officials. Later generations looked back to his rule as
a golden age, when no direct taxes were necessary, when
the surplus revenue was divided monthly among the
burghers, when the rich and Salinguerra himself sold
corn at nominal prices to the poor in times of scarcity.
No doubt Salinguerra based his rule on the support
of the lower orders, which he won by depressing some
at least of the nobles.

The wild struggles in the Trevisan Mark produced
the tyranny of Ezzelino. From 1236 to 1259 he ruled
Verona, and from this city, as we have seen, extended
his dominions over the whole Mark. His power, too,
seems to have rested on popular support — ^the people
in Verona were strongly Ghibellinei; he filled no office
himself, but appointed the magistrates, and seems to have
introduced democratic modifications into the constitu-
tion. The other cities of the Mark he subdued by
force of arms, and his authority was strengthened
when Frederick II. made him his representative in the
whole district — ^without, however, giving him the title
of Imperial Vicar. He ruled de facto not de jure; his
power was maintained by the terror inspired by his
cruelties, and fell to pieces when these cruelties had
drawn on him the general execration of his neighbours
as well as of his subjects.

Salinguerra fell in 1240 before a combined attack by
the Guelf league of '' seventeen cities that uphold the
Pope,'' and Azzo VII., brother of Aldrovandino of Este,
succeeded in his stead. He ruled for the most part
as Podestj^ re-elected from year to year, no doubt by
the influence of the now victorious Guelfs ; but in some
years he contented himself with directing affairs as
a private person, designating others as Podest^. On 4iis
death in 1264 he named his grandson Obizzo as heir

882 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

to his power, and this grandson, still a boy, was unani-
mously chosen by Podest^ Council, and popular assembly
as hereditary '^ governor and ruler and general and
perpetual lord" of Ferrara and its territory. Perrara
had definitely resigned her freedom.

Shortly before the downfall of Ezzelino the perilous
situation of the Ghibelline cities of Central Lomliardy
had forced Piacenza, Pavia, and Vercelli to elect Oberto
Pelavicini as perpetual Podestii and Lord, while Cremona
was jointly ruled by him as Podest^ of the Conunune,
and Buoso da Doara as Podest^ of the Merchants.
We have already traced the career and downfall of
these rulers.

About the same time the people of Parma, weary of
the struggle between the Guelf nobles in the city and
the Ghibelline nobles in the country, conferred on a
certain Ghiberto da Gente the offices of Podestii of the
Conunune, of the Merchants and of the People. At
first this was to be only fcM- five years, but Ghiberto
soon contrived to have this term extended to ten, and
a few days later he was made lifelong Podest^, Rector
and Lord of the city, with right to transmit his power
to his heirs. As well as P^trma he brought Reggie
under his sway, but only for a year or two. Prom
Parma itself he was expelled in 1259, after a reign of
only six years, and the republican form of government
was restored.

All these despots, with the exception of the Estensi,
were Ghibellines, and all except the Estensi failed to
transmit their power to their descendants.

But already in 1251, after a conflict in Lodi, in which
the Milanese aided the Guelfs, while Cremona and
Piacenza sided with the Ghibellines, the former people
being victorious had ordered that Succio dei Vistarini
and his kinsmen — leaders of the Guelfs — should rule
the society of the people in Lodi for the next ten
years and longer at the people's wish. A few years after-
wards, as we have seen, Martino della Torre established
hiitiself as ruler of Milan with the office of Ancient or
Podest^ of the People for a term of years. The Torriani

THE RISE OF THE TYRANNIES 383

now ruled Milan, as already described, for eighteen
years, and in that time established their authority over
several of the neighbouring towns. In these two cases
we have not so much the rule of a single man as
that of a dominant family, by ability or influence the
head of the prevailing faction. The head of this family
appears as ruler of the city ; but the republican form
of government is maintained in theory at least, and
the offices are probably divided among the members
or close friends of the leading house.

So we find Como under the Vitani or the Rusconi,
Pavia under the Beccheria or Languschi, according as
one faction or the other gains the upper hand. Here
we have a second step in the evolution of despotism —
the rule of one family rather than of one man ; and
many of these families contrive to retain power for
considerable periods.

The third step shows us leaders who rise to power, not
so much by^e aid of any one party, or by force, as by
intriguing with all parties indifferently. They place their
own interests before that of party, put an end to faction,
base their power, in appearance at least, on popular favour,
and, as a rule, transmit it to their heirs.

Ghiberto da Gente is the earliest example of this class,
and we might include in it Otto Visconti. It is true that
he got possession of Milan as leader of the Ghibelline
nobles ; but his advent was followed by no proscription
of the Guelf s ; and for a great part of his career he was
allied with Guelf Piacenza and Cremona.

So in 1275 Mantua, after an unusually blood-stained
series of convulsions, came under the dominion of Pina-
monte Bonaccolsi, who first aided the Count of San
Bonifazio to expel the Marquis of Este, then drove out
San Bonifazio by the aid of the Count of Marcharia, and
finally expelled the latter and got himself chosen for life
as Captain of the People. Once in possession of the city
he ruled as a Ghibelline. His descendants ruled Mantua
for over fifty years. Modena and Reggio, utterly exhausted
by civil war, gave themselves, in 1288 and 1290, to the
House of Este. The House of Este was Guelf ; but in

384 THB LOlfBABD COMMUNES

Modena it was the Guelfs, in R^gio the Ghibellines, who
were responsible for the surrender of the city's liberty ;
and in both cases the first act of the new lord was to
recall the exiles and enforce a general pacification.
Piacenza, which had been free since Oberto's overthrow,
was induced in 1290 to choose Alberto Scotto, who
had skilfully made use of the disgust excited by an
unsuccessful campaign against Pavia to throw contempt
on the existing government, as lord, with the title of
'' Perpetual Ancient, Protector and Defender of the
Commune and People/'

The attempt of William of Monferrat to found a
dominion based on the office of War-captain, and in-
volving the reconciliation of all factions^ met with no
success. In Romagna and Tuscany, however, many
lordships of greater or less duration took their rise in
the necessities of war which forced cities to confer
supreme power on some capable soldier.

One cause of the ease with which republican institu-
tions yielded to despotism lay in the change which had
come about in military matters. The main force of
an army became more and more concentrated in the
heavy cavalry during the thirteenth century. Armour
was made heavier and more impenetrable ; finally, horse
and rider were completely ensheathed in steel, and no
infantry had yet learned how to withstand the shodc of
their charge.

But to manage a war-horse, support the heavy armour,
and wield the lance of the mail-clad rider required the
training of a lifetime. The merchants and artisans who
had at one time formed the mainstay of the burgher
armies became utterly useless ; the towns had to fall back
on the nobles who had leisure and inclination for military
exercises, and on the professional soldiers who begin at
this time to make their appearance in Italy. A leader of
such soldiers — ^men whom he had hired by his wealth, or
who were his hereditary vassals— found himself im-
mensely powerful and courted by all the cities who
needed his services. It was precisely as leaders of this
nature that Oberto and Buoso and William of Montferrat

THE RISE OF THE TYRANNIES 386

so rapidly brought city after city under their rule ; it was
by employing their revenues to support such troops that
the later despots so easily maintained their position. If
driven from a city, their cavalry made them masters of
the open country, and famine would soon cause the
recalcitrant citizens to readmit their former masters.

To make our survey of the rise of the despots complete
we must return to the a£Fairs of the Trevisan Mark. Amid
the general jubilation at the overthrow of Ezzelino, hopes
were entertained of lasting peace and freedom. But the
Guelf exiles who came back to Verona with the Count of
San Bonifazio soon came into collision with the mass of
the people, who here were strongly Ghibelline in sym-
pathy. We may remember, indeed, that Ezzelino had
made constitutional changes that favoured the people. A
few months after Ezzelino's death the Guelfs were expelled
again > ; and Mastino della Scala, a member of a family of
low origm^ who had acquired an influential position
under the late tyrant, was chosen as Podesta del Popolo.
Frequent tumults fill the next ten years; but through
them all Mastino maintained his ascendancy, sometimes
holding office as Podesta of the People, sometimes
as Podesta of the Merchants, more often, it would seem,
governing as Ezzelino had done, without holding any
special magistracy. He was assassinated by a band of
conspirators in 1277 in the dark archway, still called the
Volto Barbaro, which leads from the Piazza dei Signori
to the Piazza delle Erbe. But he had established himself
so firmly in the affections of the citizens that on the very
next day the assembly of the people chose his brother
Albert as Captain of the People for life. A fearful
vengeance was taken on the mm-derers ; and from this
on the House of La Scala ruled Verona for more than a
hundred years. After Mantua came under the Bonaccolsi,
it and Verona formed a Ghibelline faction in the Mark

* Count Lionisio or Ludovico di San Bonifazio was expelled from
Verona in 1260, returned in 1263, was again driven out in same year,
and never returned.

' The first of the name is said to have made ladders, scaU in
Italian (G. VlUani quoted by Cipolla).

386 THE LOMBARD OOIOCUNES

in constant antaf;onism to Fadua and the Marquis of
Este*

A few years after Vicenza had been rescued from
Ezzelino's tyranny a Ghibelline party sprang up among
the nobles. Expelled from the city, Uiey seized on a
large part of the Contado, and so harassed their oppo-
nents that these saw themselves forced to offer the
overlordship of Vicenza to ' the P^uans. While re-
taining internal freedom, the city received its Podesta
from Padua, and followed the 1^ of that Commune
in external affairs.

Treviso was torn by the rivalry of the Ghibelline
Castelli with the Guelfs, headed by the Da Camino.
The former, in 1268, massacred tfiirty of the opposite
faction, drove out the Bishop, and set up Gherardo
Castelli as ruler. The next years were full of confusion,
until Gherardo da Camino, supported by the Bishop,
made himself master of the city. This was in 1283.
In subsequent years he extended his rule to Belluno
and Peltre. He was a wise and clement ruler, respected
even by his enemies ; and, almost alone of Italian despots,
has won the approval of Dante, who speaks of him,
without any farther surname, as the ''Good Gherardo."

We have now reached the period when

" . . . Le terre d' Italia tutte piene
Son di tiranni, ed an Marcel diventa
Ogni villan che parteggiando viene."'

Dante puts the date of his vision in 1300 ; and it will
not be without interest to take a general survey of the
condition of Lombardy during the ten years or so im-
mediately preceding this date.

Matteo Visconti held Milan, Vercelli, and Novara ;
Como, under the Rusconi, was once again entirely
devoted to him ; Pavia supported or opposed him
according as the Beccheria, or their rivals the Counts
of Langusco, gained the upper hand. Botticella Bonac-
colsi ruled Mantua,^ Alberto della Scala Verona. These

t « Purgatorio/' Canto VI.

* In 1299 Bardelone and Taino Bonaccolsi were expelled from

THE RISE OP THE TYRANNIES 387

despots were all Ghibelline, but we must notice that
Matteo Visconti, following Otto's example, was not averse
to allying himself with the Guelfs. The Guelf Parma,
still free, and Alberto Scotto, the Guelf lord of Piacenza,
were on friendly terms with Visconti.

Of Guelf despots, besides Alberto Scotto, we find
VenturinoBenzoniin Crema,Antonio Fisiragain Lodi; the
House of Camino held Treviso, Feltre, and Belluno, which
last two passed in 1299 to the Scaligers. The Marquis of
Este was master of Ferrara, Reggio, and Modena ; and
he, too, was not averse to an alliance with the Visconti.
Brescia was ruled by its Bishop,' of a Guelf family,
the Maggi, but himself inclining towards the opposite
side.

The Marquis Giovanni of Montferrat, a strong opponent
of Visconti, was lord of Asti, where he seems to have
ruled by the help of the Ghibellines. The smaller towns
of Piedmont, Alba, Chieri, Cuneo, and Mondovi were
under King Charles of Naples ; Turin was under the
House of Savoy.

Of cities that still preserved their freedom we find,
south of the Po, Tortona, Parma, and Bologna, the
former Ghibelline, the others Guelf. Padua, now as
ever, Guelf, was still free, and held its old enemy
Vicenza.

Finally, Bergamo, Guelf on the whole, but torn by
factions, and Cremona, Guelf and apparently more
tranquil, make up, with Alessandria on the same side,
the tale of cities not yet subject to one-man rule.^

Mantua by their nephews, who bore the curious nicknames Botti-
cella, Passerino, and Butirone.

* The Brescian Guelfs expelled four other factions in 1295 or 1296.
The exiles were recalled in 1298, and the Bishop was made ruler for
five years. In 1303 he expelled the leading Guelf family, the Brusati,
and the Griffi^ formerly the leading Ghibellines. Henceforth he
ruled as a Ghibelline in external affairs, but with the support of all
parties in the city, till his death in 1308.

' In Bergamo the Soardi, Coleoni, Rivoli, and Bonghi fought for
supremacy. In 1296 the Ghibelline Soardi expelled the Coleoni.
The latter returned at the end of two months, and with the aid of
the other two expelled the Soardi. In 1301 the Soardi were joined

388 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

It must be remembered that many of these early
despots were wise and beneficent rulers. They estab-
lished and preserved internal tranquillity, and did macfa
for the material welfare of the citizens. The lord of
Brescia, Bishop Maggi, promoted industry, especially the
woollen manufacture, and surrounded the city with new
walls. He governed impartially, was '' mild, cautious,
sober, sparing, firm in his designs/'

Alberto della Scala improved the navigation of the
Adige, also supported the woollen industry, and intro-
duced the cultivation of the mulberry. Even the first
of the Bonaccolsi, pitiless towards his rivals among the
nobles, was a just ruler of the rest of the population, and
attended carefully to their well-being.

With all this the position of none of the despots was
secure. Except the Estensi, none of the ruling families
had held power during half a century. In many cases
the Signore had been given the government only for a
term of years. In almost all the cities the spirit of
republican independence still survived. The power of
the Signore often depended on the predominance in the
Commune of a particular faction, opposed to which was
another faction having at its head a rival claimant to
lordship, waiting until some turn of events should give
him and his partisans the mastery.

This instability in the position of the Signori is strik-
ingly shown by the sudden downfall of the two most
powerful of the ruling families-— the Estensi and the
Visconti.

We have already noticed the blotting out of the sharp
lines of demarcation between Guelfs and Ghibellines in
the case of these two families. Matteo Visconti had re-
pulsed the last great attack of the Torriani largely by
Guelf aid, and had cemented his position immediately
afterwards by the marriage of his son Galeazso with
Beatrice, sister of the Marquis of Este. This marriage,

by the Coleoni, Visconti was caUed to their help, and the Bonghi
and Rivoli were driven out They returned in Z302» and Alberto
Scotto became Signore. He lost the city next year, and in 1304 the
Goelf Bon^ and Rivoli expelled the Soardi and Coleooi

THE RISE OP THE TYRANNIES 389

which seemed to strengthen his position, led, however,
to his overthrow. Alberto Scotto of Piacenza had been
promised the hand of Beatrice for his son ; and, finding
himself supplanted by his ally Matteo, he organised a
new league against the Visconti. He found helpers in
Pilippone Langusco of Pavia and the Marquis of Mont-
ferrat. Novara, Vercelli, and Alessandria, all under the
influence of the Marquis, the Guelf lords of Lodi and
Crema, Cremona and even the Ghibelline Rusconi of
Como united in recalling the Delia Torre from Friuli.
Early in 1302 the allies invaded the Milanese territory.
In Milan itself signs of a revolt were apparent, and Matteo
was forced to leave a considerable force under his son
Galeazzo to hold the city. He himself with the rest of
his troops and auxiliaries from Parma and Bergamo
advanced against his enemies.

He found them superior in numbers ; provisions began
to fail him ; disquieting reports as to the state of Milan
reached him. He did not dare to stake all his fortunes on
a battle, but sent to treat with his adversaries, and ofiFered
to abide by the award of Alberto Scotto, whom he still
believed to be his friend. The conditions imposed were
that he should renounce for himself and family the lord-
ship of Milan, readmit the exiles, and restore their lands
to the Torriani. Matteo submitted to these demands,
resigned his authority and disbanded his forces. Then
Alberto, throwing off all pretence of friendship, seized on
him as a prisoner, and only released him on his surren-
dering the castle of San Colombano. Galeazzo withdrew
with his mercenaries to Ferrara; the Torriani entered
Milan ; the populace rose and sacked the houses of the
Visconti, and all the members of the family were forced
to leave the city.

The fall of the Visconti made the Guelfs supreme in all
Central Lombardy. The Ghibellines were expelled from
Bergamo, which passed under the rule of Alberto Scotto,
as did Tortona. The Rusconi of Como gained no advan-
tage by their treachery to the Ghibelline cause. The
Guelf party rose, and in the fighting that followed
Corrado Ruscone, the head of that family, was killed.

390 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

The whole family of the Rusconi were expelled, and
the Vitani became supreme in Como.

The Ghibelline party, however, was by no means extin-
guished. The Visconti found support in Mantua and
Verona ; a sudden revolution in Parma ranged that city
decisively on the Ghibelline side ; Alessandria also
changed sides. Alberto Scotto, betraying all parties in
turn, broke with the Toniani, who had foiled his efiForts
to become master of Milan. In September, 1303, Matteo
Visconti was able to lead eight hundred horse and six
thousand foot into the Milanese. Next year the Solarii
of Asti drove out the Castelli, who had ruled by the help
of the Marquis of Montferrat The Solarii were Guelfs,
but their fear of Montferrat led them to side with
Visconti. The summer of 1304 saw two opposing leagues
of Guelfs and Ghibellines in conflict in the territories of
Parma and Piacenza.

More startling was the change in the attitude of
Bologna. The majority of the Ghibelline exiles had
been restored to that city by the peace made in 1299
with the Marquis of Este. Visconti and Delia Scala
had had a large part in arranging this restoration, and
thus had acquired an influence in the city. In 1301
Bologna had made an alliance with Visconti, and with
its former enemies Imola, Faenza, and Forli. This
change in the relations of Bologna is explained by the
long-standing quarrel between it and Modena. The
latter city being subject to the Marquis of Este, he be-
came the natural enemy of Bologna ; and as the House
of Este, in spite of a temporary rapprochement with the
Visconti, was the traditional head of the Guelf party in
the districts round the lower course of the Po, it was
inevitable that a quarrel with him would strengthen the
hands of the Ghibelline faction in the city.

Two parties now appear in Bologna — ^the strict Guelfs
in favour of an alliance with Este and the renunciation
of all designs in Modena, and the restored exiles who
were supported by all who wished to pursue the old feud
with their western neighbour. In 1303 the latter party
were strong enough to expel many of the leading parti-

THE RISE OP THE TYRANNIES 391

sans of Este, on the pretext that they wished to give the
lordship of the city to the Marquis. For the next few
years Bologna, though nominally Guelf; is allied in
foreign affairs with the Ghibellines.

The renewed alliance between Alberto Scotto and the
Visconti led to the downfall of the former. The allied
Guelf cities had twice invaded the territory of Piacenza,
pushing their ravages up to the walls. The burghers, ren-
dered desperate by their losses, rose against their Signore.
Ghiberto da Correggio, the ruler of Parma, hurried with
all his forces as if to the help of his brother despot. He
perfidiously advised Alberto to withdraw to Parma ; and
as soon as he had gone Ghiberto had himself proclaimed
Signore by his own troops. But the Piacentines, not
wishing to replace a native despot by a foreigner, rose in
arms to the cry of " Popolo I popolo I " and expelled the
Parmesans. The exiles were recalled; and for a few
years the republican institutions were restored.

We have already had occasion to refer to Ghiberto da
Correggio, the new ruler of Parma. Like Alberto Scotto,
he is a good example of the despot who rose to power by
playing off one faction against the other, and who to
maintain and extend his power was ready to betray all
parties in turn.

Parma had enjoyed a long period of tranquillity under
the rule of the Arti. But dissensions broke out afresh in
1295. A violent quarrel arose between the Houses of
Correggio and San Vitale ; and the former, having per-
suaded the people that the latter were conspiring against
the liberty of the city, were able to expel their opponents.
With the San Vitale were exiled all who were suspected
of Ghibelline leanings. Since that time there had been
a chronic state of war in the Contado between the exiles,
supported by the Marquis of Este and the ruling faction.
Ghiberto, head of the family of Correggio, saw his oppor-
tunity in this state of things. He came forward as the
leader of a movement in favour of peace. This pro-
posal nearly led to street fighting ; but finally the citizens
were brought to consent to readmit the exiles. They
entered with garlands on their heads and without any

382 THB LOMBARD OOMMUNBB

disturbance. But on the very same day, in concert
with Ghiberto's partisans in the city, they began to run
through the streets with the cry, " Viva, viva, il Signor
Ghiberto 1 " Ghiberto was carried into the palace of the
Commune, the Great Council was summoned, and pro-
claimed him lord, protector, and defender of the town,
Commune, and people of Parma, and preserver of the
peace with the exiles. Ghiberto had long been allied
with the Visconti, now he began openly to declare him-
self a Ghibelline, and the Rossi, who, with the Lupi and
da Corr^gio, had been the leaders of the Gudfs, left
the city.

Ghiberto da Corregio soon entered into a close alliance
with the Ghibelline lords of Mantua and Verona. These
were traditional enemies of the House of Este. The
marriage, in 1305, of Azzo VII I. with a daughter of the
King of Naples caused all his neighbours to fear that the
Estensi would attain to the same position in the eastern
pau-t of the Po valley that the Visconti had had in the
centre. Ghiberto da Correggio accused the Marquis of
supporting a conspiracy against his rule in Parma;
Bologna, as we have seen, had fears that he was intriguing
to get the lordship of the city. The result was a league
of Bologna with the three despots to crush the House of
Este.

The main object of the confederates was to expel the
Marquis from Reggio and Modena. The Sessi, the chief
Ghibellines of Reggio, and the Boschetti and Rangoni,
the leading Modenese Guelfs, were in exile, and joined
the attacking forces.

For a time the Marquis beat o£F assaults from without,
and put down risings within the walls. But in January,
1306, the nobles of Sassuolo suddenly called the Modenese
to arms, and shut Este's garrison up in the castle, where
want of food caused them to capitulate. Next day an
equally sudden revolt restored liberty to Reggio. The
exiles were recalled, and the liberated cities gave them-
selves up to frenzied rejoicings.

''Such was the joy in the city of Modena," says the
chronicler, "that during the whole summer and winter of

THE RISE OF THE TYRANNIES 893

the same year the citizens and populace feasted continu-
ally together, and the old men as well as the young men
went about day and night singing, wearing belts of gold
and silver, purses and crowns of flowers, and doing
other childish things, which I doubt not displeased
God." « ^

The two cities, once more free Communes, joined the
League against their late master. Brescia and Piacenza
did the same.^ The people of Ferrara were, however,
thoroughly loyal to their lord ; and though the con-
federates pushed their ravages to the gates, they saw
no possibility of reducing the city. A sudden and
violent revolution in Bologna freed the Marquis from
the most powerful of his enemies.

The mass of the people in Bologna distrusted the
Lambertazzi and other nobles, who by skilful diplomacy
had recovered a great deal of influence in the state
during the past few years. The dominant party had
given shelter to the exiled Florentine faction, the Bianchi,
moderate Guelfs whom circumstances had brought into
alliance with the Ghibellines. The ruling faction in
Florence secretly stirred up the Bolognese by the tale
that the Lambertazzi were plotting to make Alboino della
Scala Signore of Bologna.

A riot of unparalleled violence followed. A howling
mob surrounded the Palace crying, " Death to the
traitors I Send down the traitors to us, or we will burn
the Palace and kill you all !"3 Those of the supposed
traitors who fell into their hands were torn to pieces.
The boys cut up the bodies and carried the pieces on
hooks to their houses. A general rising followed. The
houses of all suspected Ghibellines were attacked and
plundered ; many were utterly destroyed, the city was
filled with bloodshed. The Lambertazzi, taken unawares,

* ''Chronicon Mutinense."

' In May the Ghibelline Landi expelled the Fontana and other
leading Guelfs from Piacenza.

3 The Latin of the chronicle is worth giving : " Moriantur pro-
ditores; mittatis ipsos proditores inferius; alias nos ccmibureinus
Palatium et interfidemus omnes vos.'*

304 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

were unable to offer any effectual resistance. They fled
from the city, this time never to return.

Bologna at once made an alliance with Florence and
the Marquis of Este. Thus strengthened, the latter was
able to hold his own against the Ghibellines. Next year
these turned their arms against Cremona, which had
remained Guelf ever since the downfall of Buoso da
Doara and Oberto Pelavicini.

From three sides the forces of Brescia, Verona,
and Parma entered the Cremonese territory, while the
Mantuans pressed up the Po with a great fleet, burning
and destroying as they passed. The Guelf cities, Milan,
Lodi, Pavia, Piacenza (where another revolution had
expelled the Ghibellines), hastened to the help of Cre-
mona. So did the Marquis of Este, who fell on the
lands of Verono and Mantua, and in a naval combat
captured or sank all the Mantuan warships.

Thus the fortune of war remained fairly even. It
would seem, however, that Cremona r^xeived a blow
from which she never recovered. Up to now she had
held her own pretty successfully against Milan, and
had taken the place of Pavia as the second city of
Lombardy. Henceforth she sinks into a subordinate
position, and her name will figure but seldom in the
remainder of our history.^

His victory on the Po was the last exploit of Azxo VIII.
of Este. His death, in January, 1308, was followed by
the eclipse of the fortunes of his house. He had
quarrelled with his brothers Francesco and Aldovran-
dino, and, as a result, had made a will leaving the
lordship of Ferrara to the young son of his illegitimate
son Fresco. Fresco was to be regent, and on Azzo's
death assumed the government of Ferrara. Francesco
and his brother, who were in possession of Rovigo and
other places, prepared to make good their claims to the
whole lordship.

The people of Ferrara disliked Fresco, who found
himself compelled to invoke Venetian help and to admit

' At this time Cremona finally lost Gtiastalla and Ltizzara on the
right bank of the Po.

KTHE RISE OF THE TYRANNIES 395
(netian garrison into the city. The neighbouring
lords, La Scala, Bonaccolsi, the Signore of Ravenna,
and the Commune of Bologna, all saw a chance of
seizing on the wealthy city. The Pope, too, to whom
the lawful Marquis of Este had appealed, thought the
occasion favourable for establishing his direct rule in
Ferrara. Bernardino da Polenta actually succeeded in
entering the city, and got himself elected Signore for
five years. He held the lordship just a week, employing
his time in plunder. Then he found that he could not
maintain himself and withdrew, leaving Ferrara in
possession of the Venetians.'

The Pope had collected a large army in the meantime,
which was joined by the Marquis Francesco. As soon
as this force appeared before the gates they were thrown
open by the people, who welcomed the Papal legate
and the Marquis with cries of ** LiOng live the Marquis
Francesco ! " But Francesco, though generally a man
of courage, kept exhorting them to cease this cry, and
instead to shout '^ Long live the holy Roman Church 1 "
He had been tricked by the legate, who had promised
to hand the city over to him if the Papal overlordship
was first fully recognised. The Venetians still held the
castle and poured in fresh troops. The legate showed
no signs of handing over Ferrara to the Marquis, and
the citizens were consequently not inclined ' to take a
vigorous part in the struggle.

At first the Venetians prevailed. The Papal forces
had to abandon the city, which had to agree to receive
a Podesta from Venice, and to restore the exiled Torelli
and other Ghibelline families. The Pope renewed the
struggle in 1309. The Venetians were excommunicated,
and all their goods in every part of the world declared
forfeited. The Marquis Francesco, still trusting in the
legate's promises, was at the head of a great army
gathered from the Guelf cities, Bologna alone furnishing
eight thousand men. After fierce fighting around and
inside the walls, the Papal forces were victorious. The
Venetian fleet was cut off by a bridge thrown over the
' The Da Poleota family ruled Ravenna.

306 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

POy and destroyed after a conflict in \ditch six tiioosand
of the vanquished perished. The legate entered into
full possession of the ravaged and weakened city, and
then handed it over to King Rol>ert of Naples, whose
Governors held it by means of foreign mercenaries.

Francesco and Aldrovandino, their claims utterly dis-
regarded, saw their dominions reduced to Rovigo and
the adjoining districts, which they held as fiefs of the
Empire. The former was murdered in 131 2 by Roberfs
mercenaries. For eight years the House of Este was
reduced to obscurity.

In the meantime the Delia Torre were supreme in
Milan. Nominally, the republican form of government
was observed ; the Delia Torre were merely private
citizens. But in reality they had complete control over
the elections to the various magistracies, as well as over
the internal administration and the foreign policy of the
Commune. In 1307 Guido, the head of the family, was
elected Captain of the People for a year ; and in tiie
next year this oflBce was conferred on him for life. We
have seen that even Matteo Visconti had never been
elected to this office for more than five years at a time.
This conferring of the Captaincy, which practically
meant the lordship of the city, on Guido for his life
may be said to mark the end of republican institutions
in Milan.

Guido gained a farther accession of strength in 1307
when the Guelfs of Piacenza,' after a violent series of
changes in the government, chose him for two years
as ''Captain, Defender, and Lord." Matte Visconti,
finding all his efforts to shake the power of the Torriani
useless, retired to a country house in the territory of
Mantua. To a spy of Guido's, who asked him when

* In 1307 Alberto Scotto and the exiled Guelfs gained a victory in
the Contado which led to their entry into Piacenza. The Ghibeilines
fled and in their torn won a victory which forced the Guelfs to
appeal to the Delia Torre. Alberto seems to have lost all authority.
Ddla Torre recalled the exiles in 1308. In 1309 Alberto took
advantage of a new outbreak to expel Delia Torre's garrison. He
then made an alliance with the Ghit>elline cities, while the Landi
got help from the Guelfs.

THE RISE OP THE TYRANNIES 397

he expected to be able to return to MUan, he is said
to have answered^ " Tell your master that I shall return
when his sins surpass mine."

During all these years Piedmont had been the theatre
of a confused struggle in which the Counts of Savoy
and their kinsmen, the Princes of Achaia, the Marquises
of Montferrat and Saluzzo, the Communes of Asti and
Alessandria, and their smaller neighbours Chieri and
Alba all take part. A special source of conflict in this
region was the acquisition by the Counts of Provence
of. many districts near their frontiers.* When by the
conquest of Naples the House of Anjou had become
head of the Italian Guelfs, they used this position to
increase their power in the north-west of Italy. Hence
long wars with Montferrat and especially with Asti. The
latter city had greatly increased in wealth and power
during the thirteenth century, and held in Piedmont
the same predominant position as Milan in Central
Lombardy or Bologna in Romagna.

We have a graphic picture of the time in the chronicle
of Ventura, who himself played a leading part in the
politics of his native city. He shows us the play of
faction within the walls, in this case confined to the
leading families. The mass of the people were ready
to acclaim whatever faction was temporarily victorious,
and to take the field in its favour against those who
had lately been the masters or the allies of the Commune.
He paints for us the hostilities which still went on in
this part of Italy between the cities and the petty feudal
lords who still kept their independence in the Ligurian
Apennines. He shows us the Commune, no matter who
ruled, always greedy to extend its territories ; now rasing
a castle, now buying a village, now seizing on a fragment
of Montferrat, or compelling the. Marquises of Ceva
to swear fealty. The burgher militia goes out to war,
full of enthusiasm, but liable to attacks of panic, or,
if in diflficulties, ready to turn on its leaders with the

' Chierasco» SavigUano, Mondovi, Cuneo, Alba were all at one
time or another ander the House of Anjou ; Counts of Provence and
Kings of Naples.

308 THE LOMBARD COIOCUNES

cry, 'Mt is your business to sell pepper, instead of
making the people of Asti die of hunger 1 " <

We mark the growing inefficiency of the infantry of
the Communes against the disciplined bodies of heavy
cavalry which formed the main strength of the armies of
Provence or Montferrat.

To Ventura the evils arising from the conflict of
factions were clearly apparent. He sees the faults of
both sides. He had personally witnessed the destruction
caused by discord in most of the Communes. At Verona
he saw the ruins of the houses of all the richest and
greatest families expelled by the Scaligers. He was at
Mantua and saw great ruin, at Cremona and heard of the
expulsion of ten thousand men, and the ruin could not
be estimated. He saw Ferrara, Modena, Brescia, Panna,
and many more always in a hstd state, ''and they are so
now." The simple prose of his narrative makes a fitting
pendant to Dante's sonorous verse —

"Ah, servile Italy 1 abode of woe I
Bark without pilot in a stormy sky !
Queen once of fair domains — now fallen low !

While now thy living ones are constant foes,
And each one gnaws the other — even they
Whom the same moat, the self-same walls enclose.
Search, wretched one 1 thy sea-girt shores around ;
Then inward turn to thine own breast, and see
If any part in joyous peace be found." *

To Italy, thus torn by factions and fast falling under
the yoke of ambitious despots, there came, in 1309, the
news that a German monarch was once again about
to cross the Alps to restore the long dormant authority of
the Empire. More than half a century had passed since
the death of Conrad ; and since that time no Emperor
Elect had come to receive the Iron Crown of Loml)ardy
and the Imperial diadem. The new sovereign, Henry

' This cry was raised ag^nst Ventura on one occasion when the
burghers under his command were cut off from supplies by the
enemy.

• " Purg.," Canto VI., Wrighf s trans.

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4^ ©J

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THE RISE OF THE TYRANNIES 399

of Luxemburg, was a man of small possessions, a fact
which probably recommended him to the electors, who,
from selfish reasons, preferred to see the Empire weak
rather than their own power curtailed. In character he
was pious, brave, and clement, and inspired by lofty
idealism which led him to aim at restoring the splendour
of the Empire, without fully taking into account the
difficulties in the way. Strange to say, he had been
elected with the full approval of Pope Clement V., and
was coming, in accord with him, to be crowned at Rome
and to bring peace, as he hoped, to the Italian peninsula.

He had been elected towards the end of 1308, and
in the next year arrangements had been made with the
Pope, then residing in Avignon, for his coronation at
Rome. In 1310 envoys were sent into Italy to make
preparations for his journey, and in October of the same
year Henry himself crossed the Alps and proceeded by
way of Susa to Turin.

Times had changed since a German sovereign led with
him on his progress to Rome forces sufficient to com-
mand obedience. In order to carry on his long struggle
with the Lombards and the Church, Frederick II. had
been forced to make concessions to his German vassals
which had rendered them virtually independent. The
interregnum, which had lasted until 1273, had still further
contributed to make the Crown a mere empty. dignity.
The German king had now to depend for his power
on the resources of his hereditary states ; and these, as
we have seen in Henry's case, were but small. Instead
of the hosts which had followed Barbarossa across the
Alps, or the smaller, but still considerable, army with
which Frederick II. had entered Italy in 1236, only a
thousand men-at-arms and as many archers formed the
force which accompanied Henry of Luxemburg.

Yet such was still the prestige of the Imperial name,
such were the expectations aroused by the lofty character
of the new ruler, that he met at first with no open oppo-
sition. Guido della Torre had tried in vain to organise
a Guelf League, in order to shut the Alpine passes against
Henry. But the other Guelf leaders, headed by Antonio

400 THE LOMBABD GOMMUNBB

Pistragay lord of Lodi| and Count Filippone of Langusco,
lord of Pavia, declared that they would not be rebels to
the king their lord«> The new sovereign, who came de-
claring his intention to do equal justice to all irrespective
of party, to make peace everywhere, and to restore all
exiles^ had in his favour an irresistible current of popular
approval* Besides, the Emperor was the undoubted
fount of honour, and for tfie tyrants of the cities, no
matter what their party, there was the prospect of
winning the Imperial favour by diplomacy or gold, and
seeing their usurped dominion turned by a diploma
into a legal rule founded on the title of Vicar of the
Empire.

The cities from Turin to Milan received Henry with
becoming respect. In Asti he restored the exiled
Ghibellines to their homes, in Vercelli he pacified the
Tizzoni and the Awocati, in Novara the Brusati, die
Tornielli. In each city he set up an Imperial Vicar,
according to the plan followed by Frederick II. Only
Guide della Torre still refused his allegiance. In Henry's
train was Matteo Visconti, as well as some exiled mem-
bers of the Della Torre family ; and Guido feared that
their entry into Milan would mean his own ruin. Henry
drew near to Milan, and sunmioned the whole population
to meet him unarmed without the walls. In spite of
Guido's commands to the contrary, the Emperor was
obeyed. Nobles, people, magistrates, all streamed out to
welcome their sovereign. Guido, lelft almost alone, saw
himself forced to follow their example. He, too^ came
to pay his homage, which was accepted with a mild
reproof.

Two days before Christmas Henry made his solemn
entry into Milan. His first care was to pacify the con-
tending factions. For this purpose he demanded and
obtained the direct lordship of the city. Guido thus saw
his fears come true, and the government taken from his
hands. Henry saw .himself, without striking a blow, in

* The Guelfs of Asti declared to the ambassadors of Robert of
Naples, " We are the senrants of onr lord the Emperor, and in all
the dkyt of onr life we vnil have no other loird but him" (Ventiini)«

THE RISE OF THE TYRANNIES 401

peaceful possession of the mighty city which had twice
defied all the power of his predecessors.

The pacification was carried out in a solemn assembly
held before the venerable church of Sant Ambrogio. All
exiles were restored ; their property was given back to
them ; all leagues and associations for party purposes
were dissolved ; Matteo and Guido sat side by side at the
Emperor's feet, firm friends to all outward seeming.
Following on this ceremony came the coronation of
Henry and his consort, which took place on January 6,
131 1, in the presence of the deputies of all the Lombard
cities, except Alessandria, Alba, and Ferrara, which were
under the rule of King Robert of Naples. A curious
detail is that the famous Iron Crown of Lombardy had
been pawned by the Torriani in 1273 and never re-
deemed. It was necessary to manufacture a copy to
supply its place.

So far unlooked-for success had attended Henry. But
almost immediately after his coronation the real diffi-
culties of his position began to show themselves. King
Robert of Naples, head of the extreme Guelfs, had, from
the first, done all he could to prevent any revival of the
Imperial power. Florence and Bologna joined him in
this course, and their emissaries were busily employed in
stirring up the Lombard Guelfs to opposition. The task
of pacification which Henry had undertaken was bound
to excite hostility. Everywhere he restored the exiles
and abolished party government, to the indignation of
those who had profited by the former state of affairs.
The despots who had climbed to power as party leaders
were forced to resign their authority. The Guelf lords
who had at first received Henry as their sovereign were
induced by this to join themselves to Henry's open
enemies as the surest way of recovering their power ; the
Ghibelline lords set all their hopes on the possibility of
showing the Emperor that they alone could be counted
on as his friends, and of bringing on an open rupture
with the Guelfs. Moreover, Henry had placed Imperial
Vicars in the cities, thus replacing the power of the
Podest^ or of the former despot by that of a royal official.

402 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

ThiSf which was certainly a diminution of the Communal
liberties, might well be considered an infringement of the
Treaty of Constance ; and unfortunately the men chosen
for the office were, in many cases, incapable and vicious,
so that they quickly became more obnoxious than the
native despots whom they replaced.

All Henry's efforts at impartiality broke down before
the fierce Italian passions. The Ghibellines declared
that Henry saw no one but Guelfs ; the Guelfs that he
welcomed only Ghibellines. But he was forced, in spite
of all his desire to hold the balance even, by sheer
necessity to incline to the Ghibelline side. The exiled
Guelfs were restored to Mantua, as they had been to
Brescia and Modena ; but Henry was not strong enough
to force Bonaccolsi to resign the lordship of the city;
while in Verona he was not able to induce Cane della
Scala to consent to the return of the exiles.

The first open difficulties in Henry's way showed them-
selves in Milan. The citizens were requested to contribute
a large sum of money to provide for his necessities;
and Henry announced his intention of choosing a
hundred young nobles of the leading families, nominally
to figure as an escort at his coronation in Rome, really
to serve as hostages for the fidelity of the Milanese.
These demands greatly irritated the citizens of all parties.
News was brought to Henry that the whole city was in
a ferment, and that Galeazzo, son of Matteo Visconti, had
been seen in earnest conversation with one of Guido's
sons outside one of the gates. He resolved on prompt
action. His German troops were sent to search the
houses of the Visconti and the Delia Torre, where it
was reported that armed men were assembling. They
found Matteo sitting in the loggia before his palace, in
every-day garments, quietly conversing with some of
his friends. No signs of warlike preparations were dis-
covered in the house. But the houses of the Della
Torre were found filled with armed men, and almost
immediately a conflict arose between them and the
Germans.

The combat grew as more soldiers and partisans of

THE RISE OP THE TYRANNIES 403

the Torriani hurried to the spot The issue was doubt-
ful, when Galeazzo Visconti suddenly appeared at the
head of the partisans of his house, and joined his forces
to the royal troops. The Torriani had been surprised
before their preparations were complete. Their barri-
cades and palaces were stormed, and the latter sacked
and burned. The mass of the people remained quiet,
until the issue of the combat was no longer doubtful,
when they declared for the victors. The members of
the Delia Torre family escaped with difficulty from their
dwellings, and fled from Milan. For six days the fury
of the mob raged against the Torriani and their sup-
porters.

It is said that the whole occurrence was the outcome
of a deep-laid plot on the part of Matteo Visconti.
He had pretended to join with the Delia Torre in a
plan to expel the Germans, meaning from the first to
declare for Henry as soon as a conflict should break
out. According to others, he had really intended to side
with the Delia Torre; and it was due to the pure accident
that he had not yet begun to arm his followers that
Henry's emissaries had found no suspicious preparations
at his house. Then when the preparations of the Delia
Torre were discovered — ^the rising had been meant for
the following day — he had quickly seen and taken
advantage of the opportunity to crush the rival house
once for all, and to figiu'e in Henry's eyes as his loyal
subject. Whatever the truth may be, the result of the
upheaval was to leave the Visconti masters of Milan.^
The Delia Torre never returned from this their second
exile. After a few years their name disappears from
the annals of Lombardy.

Close following on the expulsion of the Delia Torre
came a revolt of the Guelf Communes of Lodi, Crema,
and Cremona. But the instigators of the insurrection
had no time to provision the cities or take other
measures of defence, before the advance of Henry's

' It is true that Henry, as soon as quiet was restored, banished
Matteo and Galeazzo from Milan. But they were recalled almost
at once.

404 THE LOMBABD COMMUNES

forces, aided by the Milanese, terrified them into sub-
miasion. In his treatment of Cremona, the German
monarch departed from his usual clemency. Acting
on the advice of the leading Ghibelline noble, the city
had sent three hundred of the chief of the nobles and
people, barefooted and with ropes round their necks,
to implore pardon. They were all cast into prison,
where most of them perished. The walls of Cremona
were broken down, the ditches filled up, the towers
destroyed. A fine of 100,000 florins was imposed on
the city, which was furthermore deprived of all its rights
and finally given over for three days to the fury of the
soldiery.

More serious was the revolt of Brescia. Matteo Maggi,
lord of the city, had been the last of the Lombard rulers
to make his submission to Henry and to restore the
exiles. He acted thus, though a Ghibelline, because, as
he declared to the monarch, no confidence could be
placed in Tebaldo Brusati, head of the exiled Guelfs.
Yielding at length to Henry's exhortations, he' had
agreed to receive back the exiles. A solemn act of
pacification followed, and Matteo resigned his lordship
into the hands of an Imperial Vicar. Scarcely had the
exiles returned when the two factions were at each
other's throats. Contemporary authors differ as to
whidi party first broke the peace. But it would seem
that Brusati, unmindful of what he owed to Henry,
was the aggressor. The people and all the Guelfs sided
with the Brusati, and after several days' battle in the
streets the Ghibellines were expelled, along with the
Imperial Vicar.

This was towards the end of February, and in May
Henry appeared before the city at the head of a great
army gathered from all parts of Lombardy. Then began
another siege of Brescia as memorable as that under-
taken by Frederick II. It is hard to understand why
the burghers who had enjoyed internal peace for more
than ten years under the mild rule of the Maggi should
now have exposed themselves to utter ruin at the bidding
of the Brusati. But we have already seen in the case

THE RISE OF THE TYRANNIES 405

of Parma in 1247 how easily an impassioned orator or
a dexterous party leader could work on the passions
of an Italian multitude, and excite them to the highest
pitch of enthusiasm.

Brescia, strong in men and fortifications, resisted with
the utmost vigour.' Tebaldo Brusati, captured in a
sally^ refused the offer of life and honours if he would
persuade his fellow*citizens to surrender. He was
dragged to death at a horse's tail. The Brescians,
only rendered more furious by his death, retaliated
by hanging their prisoners from the battlements. All
efforts to storm the fortifications failed. The burghers
replied by sorties, in one of which the Emperor's brother
perished.

In the meantime the besieging army was wasting away
through sickness brought on by the summer heats. The
Florentines, King Rob«-t, and Henry's other enemies
were gaining time to prepare a vigorous resistance in
Tuscany. At last, in September, the mediation of the
Cardinals, sent from Avignon to crown Henry at Rome
succeeded in inducing the citizens to capitulate. They
obtained terms sufficiently moderate considering the
provocation they had given. Henry is, however, accused
of not having kept his promises. The walls were broken
down, the gates sent to Rome. A fine of seventy
thousand florins was imposed on the citizens, and
levied not only on the Guelfs but on the Ghibellines,
many of whom had actually fought on Henry's side,
and all of whom had suffered for their devotion to the
Empire.

Once before the Brescians had stemmed the tide of
Frederick II.'s successes after Cortenuova. Now they,
shattered Henr/s hope of re-establishing the Imperisd
authority by peaceful means. The acute contemporary
observer, Giovanni Villani, is of opinion that, if Henry
had marched into Tuscany after the submission of
Cremona, Florence and the other disobedient Communes
would have made their submission. But the long siege

' It is said that the city and Contado could supply 100,000 men fit
to bear arms.

406 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

of Brescia gave a breathing space to his opponents.
King Robert and the Tuscan Guelfs were able to pre-
pare for resistance. Henry's money was exhausted,
his army diminished by battle and pestilence. Worst
of all, he had been forced to rely for assistance on the
Ghibelline leaders. Ghiberto da Correggio had given
him valuable help, and had restored the Imperial crown
which had been kept in Parma ever since the overthrow
of Frederick II. at Vittoria. He received in return the
title of Imperial Vicar. To Matteo Visconti, who had
shown himself equally forward in his service, Henry
gave the same dignity in July. Thus the de facia rule
of the Visconti in Milan now was put on a legal footing.
In October, 131 1, Henry left Lombardy for Genoa,
on his way to Rome. His subsequent career, his corona-
tion in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran (for after six
weeks' fighting he was unable to dislodge the Guelfs from
St. Peter's and Castel Sant' Angelo), his untimely death at
Buonconvento, near Siena, in August, 1313, are outside
the scope of our work.

*^ -^ >«-

CHAPTER XIV

VISCONTI AND DBLLA SCALA

Henry of Luxemburg had come to bring peace to Italy.
After his first delusive successes the flame of party strife
had burst forth more furiously than ever. He had set
himself to destroy the power of the despots, who had
founded their rule on the wrecks of the communal
lit)erties. The net result of his enterprise was to establish
these despots more firmly than before. He had striven
to be impartial ; but the hostility of the Guelfs had forced
him to look to the Ghibellines for help. He saw himself
obliged to rely on those party leaders, such as the
Visconti and Delia Scala, who were able to dispose of all
the resources of the Ghibelline party.

The remainder of our story will show the growth of
despotism and the final disappearance of republican
institutions from Lombardy. A new feature marks the
period following on the death of Henry VII. Up to
now each city, whether free or under a despot, had
preserved its external independence. It is true that Ezze-
lino had forcibly brought Vicenza, Padua, and other
Communes under his sway, but this was a mere passing
exception. The rule of Oberto Pelavicini, William of
Montferrat, the Torriani, the Visconti (previous to their
overthrow in 1302) over several Communes had been
based on the predominance of one faction in these cities.
It ended with the downfall of that faction.' Hence the
continual variations in the extent of their power. Each

* The role of the House of Este in Modena and Reggio from 1288
and 1290 to 1306 is an exception to this. Vicenza, too, had been
subject to Padua for nearly fifty years before 131 1.

408 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

Commune subject to them preserved its independence in
external matters. But now we find the more able amc»g
the Signori subverting by force the communal institutwos
or the authority of the local despots in the neighbouring
cities. An age of consolidation sets in. The smaller
Communes were swallowed up one by one by the masters
of the greater ones. By the middle of the fourteeatii
century the innumerable city-states of Lombardy had
disappeared. Besides the feudal principalities of Savoy,
Montferrati and Saluzzo in Piedmont, we find five
despotic dynasties who between them ruled the whole
valley of the Po.

During this period of consolidation the Guelf and
Ghibelline parties represent, to a great extent, the struggle
between despotism and liberty. Before 1310 there are as
many, if not more, Guelf Signori as there are Ghibelline.
After that time those despots who held their own success-
fully did so as Ghibellines. Even the House of Este
joined that party in order to recover Ferrara. Those
Communes which made despairing efforts to preserve
their freedom did so under the Guelf banner. ViUani's
remark that the Guelf party was that of liberty, and that
every one who made himself tyrant of a dty inevitably
became a Ghibelline, is true of this period.

Henry had scarcely quitted Lombardy when every-
where the Guelfs rose against his Vicars. Ghiberto da
Correggio, whom we have seen changing sides to suit his
own selfish ends, caused Parma and Reggio to revolt
The Imperial favour had given him the title of Vicar in
these cities ; but Florentine gold proved stronger than
gratitude. Asti, Vercelli, and Novara rose while Henry
was still at Genoa. Philip of Savoy, who had been made
Vicar in Piedmont, was foremost here in rebellion. In
Pavia, Filippone da Langusco expelled or imprisoned the
leading Ghibellines. The Brescian Guelfs, far from being
intimidated by the recent siege, rose against the Ghibel-
lines on the return to the city of seventy citizens whom
Henry had carried off as hostages, and who had found
means to escape. But in Brescia it was the Guelfs who
were driven out. Joining the Cremonese exiles they

VISCX)Nn AND DBLLA SCALA 409

captured Cremona in March, 13 12. About the same time
Fisiraga seized on Lodi, and the Imperial Vicar with the
Ghibellines was expelled from Piacenza. In the Mark,
the Paduans, who up to now had not ventured on open
opposition to Henry, declared against him. Their indig-
nation had been kindled by the loss of Vicenza, which
Cane della Scala had seized in April 1311. The brothers
Alboino and Cane had been made Imperial Vicars in
Verona, and to this dignity was now joined the vicariate
over Vicenza.

The first e£Forts of the Guelfs were not successful. The
Marquis Cavalcabo, head of the Guelfs of Cremona, was
defeated by the forces of Milan and Bergamo, and taken
prisoner along with Benzoni, formerly Signore of Crema.
Cavalcabd, brought before the German Vicar-General
whom Henry had sent to Lombardy, was killed by him
with a blow of a mace. Benzoni, handed over to the
leader of the Ghibellines of Crema, was strangled. The
ablest of the Guelf despots, Antonio Fisiraga, fell into
the hands of Matteo Visconti. Cast into prison, he
remained there till his death, fifteen years later. The
ever-inconstant Alberto Scotto put himself at the head of
the Ghibellines of Piacenza, and restored them to that
city after a month's exile.

The power of the Ghibelline despots grew. Henry was
forced to rely entirely on their support. Already he had
made Visconti Imperial Vicar in Milan, and the brothers
Alboino and Cane della Scala in Verona. The Bonac-
colsi obtained the same title in Mantua by timely aid in
money. Rizzardo da Camino, the Guelf lord of Treviso,
abandoned the traditional policy of his house and pur-
chased the same dignity.

A year had passed since Henry had, as he thought,
brought peace to Lombardy ; and now war raged every-
where with greater violence than ever. In Vercelli,
Guelfs and Ghibellines fought in the streets for forty-nine
days. Milan, Pavia, the Marquis of Montferrat, Philip of
Savoy, all intervened in the quarrel. Help from Pavia
decided the struggle in favour of the Guelfs; but in
return the Pavesan territory was wasted far and wide by

410 THE LOMBARD COBOfUNES

Visconti and the Milanese. In Modena the Guelfe voe
discovered in an intrigue with Bologna. This ipas
enough to excite popular fury against them. The plotleis
fled, to reappear with a Bolognese army. The Modenese
went out to stop the advance, but were routed, and the
city itself almost fell into the hands of her detested rival.
The prompt aid of Cane della Scala and Passerino dei
Bonaccolsi drove back the enemy from the walls. As
the only means to secure themselves from Bolc^nese
aggression, the dominant party in Modena renounced
the liberty the recovery of which the burghers had
saluted with such extravagant outbursts of joy six years
before. Bonaccolsi was proclaimed lord of the city.

While Modena returned to the rule of a despot Treviso
shook off the yoke of hers. Rizzardo da Camino, who
had gone over to the Ghibellines, was assassinated by a
man dressed as a peasant. The miu-derer was at once
cut to pieces by the bystanders — Rizzardo was playing
chess at the moment when he was struck — and it was
generally believed that he was an instrument employed
by some of these very persons who were displeased at
Rizzardo's change of party. By killing the murderer they
removed the only evidence against them. Rizzardo's
brother and successor, Guecelo, at first sided with
the Guelfs; but before eight months were passed he
began to make overtures to the opposite party. This led
to a widespread conspiracy against him, in which some
of his own kinsmen joined. In December, ^3^^ the
people rose and expelled him from the city, and Treviso
was once more free.

While Treviso was torn by internal dissensions the rest
of the Mark was the theatre of a violent struggle for the
possession of Vicenza between Cane della Scala and the
Commune of Padua. More than one peace was made
between the rivals, to be broken before long. Its result
was to increase the power of the lord of Verona, and to
bring Padua, for the first time since the overthrow of
Ezzelino, into the hands of a tyrant.

In February, 131 2, the Guelfs of Piacenza rose and
expelled the Ghibellines, along with the Imperial Vicar.

VISCONTI AND DELIA SOALA 411

The ever-intriguing Alberto Scotto, who had been driven
from Piacenza some eighteen months before, saw his
opportunity. Suddenly reverting to the Ghibelline cause,
he brought the exiles back to the city just a month after
their expulsion. Piacenza again acknowledged Henry's
authority. But there could be no durable peace between
the Scotti and the Landi. Alberto had expelled the
leading Guelfs in March in the interests of the Empire.
In September he expelled the Ghibelline chiefs in his
own, "and then the Lord Alberto," says the chronicle,
**had for the third time the dominion over Piacenza." »

Henry's death in August, 13 13, and the change in the
attitude of Clement V., who had begun to declare for the
Guelfs, appeared at first to presage the total ruin of the
Ghibellines. But once more, as in the years following
the death of Frederick II., the latter found salvation in
the abilities of their leaders. Matteo Visconti in Milan
and Can Grande della Scala in Verona not only held
their ground against all the e£Forts of the Guelfs but
began the career of conquest which was to raise their
houses high above all the despotic dynasties of Lombardy.

Matteo Visconti had to contend almost unaided with
the cities west of Milan, which were now all Guelf, and
of which the chief, such as Pavia, Asti, and Alessandria,
had chosen King Robert of Naples as their lord. His
seneschal, Hugues des Baux, headed, along with Filip-
pone da Langusco and Philip of Savoy, the Guelf party
in these districts.

To the east Cremona, Parma, and Reggio — ^the last
two under Ghiberto da Correggio — ^belonged to the same
faction.

' According to the " Chronicon Placentinum/' the Guelf Fontana
had driven ont Guido deUa Torre's garrison, along with some Ghibel-
lines, in May, 1309. Leo de Fontana was then elected Lord. But
Alberto Scotto must soon have superseded him, for we are told that
in 13 10 he had ruled Piacenza for a year and four months. The
advent of Henry VIL led him to recall the Guelf Arcelli and the
Ghibelline Landi, both of whom were in exile. He promised them
two-thirds of the offices. On the very day of their return they
attacked Alberto, and next day expelled him. He retired to Castel
Arquato, and Piacenza remained quiet until February, 1312.

412 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

Matteo, aided by a numerous band of talented and
warlike sons, made head against all his enemies. The
eldest of these sons, Galeazzo, had obtained from the
Emperor early in 1313 the vicariate over Piacenza. The
shifty Alberto Scotto, who now professed devotion to
the Imperial cause, did not dare to oppose him.
Galeazzo restored the exiled Landi ; and then, on the
pretext of maintaining public tranquillity, he arrested
seven of the leaders of their party and seven of those
of the Scotti, and sent them to his father at Milan.
The Ghibelline Landi were at once released ; their
opponents, amongst whom were Alberto himself and
his son, were retained in captivity. Piacenza was now
entirely in the hands of the Ghibellines ; and in Septem-
ber, 1313, the dominant party elected Galeazzo as per-
petual lord. Alberto was soon released ; but he never
reentered Piacenza. He had betrayed all parties in turn,
seeking ever his own aggrandisement His perfidy would
have l>een less remarkable in the fifteenth century, when
Italian despots had made of treason a fine art. But in
the early fourteenth century Guelfs and Ghibellines still
represented fixed principles. The despot could not yet
afford to cut himself adrift from both. Alberto had three
times gained the lordship over Piacenza ; but, distrusted
by all, his power never struck firm roots. He fell at last
without a struggle. For some years his unquiet figure
flits at times across our history, engaged in some intrigue
against the Visconti. But in 13 17 Castel Arquato, his
chief stronghold, had to surrender, and Alberto retired
to Crema, where, soon after, he died.

The Guelf cities made an attempt to capture Piacenza ;
but they were easily repulsed, and Filippone da Langusco,
captured in the flight, was sent to end his days in the
prisons of Milan. Undeterred by this, the forces of Asti,
Alessandria, Pavia, Vercelli, and Cremona renewed the
attack in 13 14. Discord dispersed their host, when they
were already pressing their attack against the walls.
They retired in confusion, pursued by Marco, one of
the most warlike of Matteo's sons. Following them up
beyond the borders of Piacenza, he captured Tortona.

VISCONTI AND DELLA SCALA 413

Besides Milan, Piacenza, and Tortona, Matteo now
numbered Bergamo and Como among the cities under
his control. The Rusconi, whom Henry VII. had
restored to the latter city, had imitated the Visconti,
and had driven out the Vitani, who had ruled the Com-
mune for eight years. The Rusconi were in close alliance
with the ruler of Milan. Ludovico, another of Matteo's
sons, was Imperial Vicar in Bergamo. The Guelfs were
expelled about this time, and, rallying in the open
country, were defeated with the loss of a thousand
slain.

The year 13 15 saw the greatest triumph of Matteo's
arms. In July he gained a great victory in the open
country over King Robert's general, who had led into
the field the forces of Pavia, Vercelli, Asti, and Alessan-
dria, with the exiles from Milan. Several of the Torriani
were among the killed and capttu*ed. In October, while
the men of Pavia were on an expedition against a newly-
erected castle of Matteo's, Stefano, another of the Visconti
brothers, secretly approached the city, and at early dawn
scaled the walls. The surprise was complete. Ricciardo
da Langusco, son of Count Filippone, and his successor
as ruler of Pavia, was slain as he tried to organise resist-
ance. But resistance was hopeless. Visconti's troops
easily became masters of a city almost devoid of defenders.
For the first time in its history the proud capital of the
Lombard kings fell into the hands of the detested Milanese.

Visconti did not abuse this great success. The city
was plundered as a matter of course ; but there was little
actual bloodshed. The Beccheria, rescued from the prison
in which they had lately languished, were put at the head
of the government. But in order to make sure of their
obedience Matteo built a fortress within the walls, and
left his son Lucchino in command of the garrison.

Before the year was over Alessandria was also in
Matteo's hands. His forces had approached the walls,
bringing with them the exiled Lanzavecchia. But Tom-
maso del Pozzo, leader of the chief Guelf family, had
become weary of the rule of King Robert of Naples.
Instead of resisting the enemy, he rose in arms against

414 THE LOlfBABD COMMUNES

the general of the King, and opened the gates to Lucchino
Visconti Alessandria sought internal peace under
Matteo's rule.

While Matteo was extending his power to the west,
and had planted the Milanese banner on the walls of
Pavia, Cremona — ^the other great rival of Milan in the
past — was hard pressed by the arms of Bonaccolsi and
Delia Scala. Their army penetrated to the gates of
Cremona. In its distress the city sought safety by pro-
claiming Signore the Marquis Jacopo Cavalcabo. There
was, however, a considerable party in the city who were
indignant at this surrender of their freedom. Headed by
Ponxino dei Ponzoni, they left Cremona and fortified
themselves at Soncino, and soon entered into negotia-
tions with the Ghibellines. To restore peace the media-
tion of Ghiberto da Correggio was invoked. But the
lord of Parma, who had secured his power by repeated
treasons, saw here the opportunity of a new and advan-
tageous breach of faith. He induced Cavalcabo to resign,
so that Ponzoni and his party might return. Cavalcabo
therefore laid down his authority, on which Ghiberto,
instead of bringing back the exiles, had himself pro-
claimed lord. But Ghiberto had played the traitor once
too often. Alarmed at his growing power, the Ghibelline
leaders took measures to strike at him in Parma itself.
They won over some of the nobles of that city in whom
Ghiberto most trusted. These roused the city to arms
with the cry of " Popolo ! Popolo ! " and soon mastered
Ghiberto's followers. Ghiberto found himself helpless,
and withdrew to his castles in the Contado. And the
parties of Cremona, uniting against the man who had
betrayed them both, soon deprived him of his authority
in that city also.' For some years more he plays a con-

■ Cremona was then ruled as a republic under an Abbot of the
People. In less than a year be, with fifty of the leading citizens,
was assassinated by Cavalcabo, who again seized the government
Next year (1318) Ponzoni expelled him, and was chosen Signore.
In 13 19 Ghiberto da Correggio, at the head of a Guelf army, sur-
prised the city by night, and committed horrible cruelties. In
1322 Galeazzo Visconti forced Cremona to surrender, and was

yiSCONn AND DELIA SCALA 415

siderable part in the struggles of Lombardy as a leader of
troops in the pay of King Robert and of the Guelf party.
But he never recovered the dominion of Parma. Thus,
one by one, the Guelf despots were falling before the
more talented and more fortunate Ghibellines.

Parma now joined the Ghibelline League. On the
other hand Crema went over to the Guelfs. So, too,
did Brescia, where the Guelf exiles, who had been re-
admitted in 131 3, rose in arms after nearly three years of
peace, and, with help from Cremona, expelled their
opponents after a struggle in the streets. Much more
important was the recovery of Ferrara by the Marquises
of Este and their subsequent going over to the Ghibel-
lines.

Ferrara had been for some years under King Robert of
Naples. The Catalan mercenaries, whom he placed in
garrison there, grievously oppressed the inhabitants.
Their tyranny became so insupportable that in 1317 the
burghers rushed to arms, massacred all the soldiers they
could find in the streets, and besieged the survivors in
the castle. Rinaldo and Obizzo, sons of the Marquis
Aldrovandino of Este, were sent for and proclaimed
Signorl Under their guidance Castel Tealdo was
stormed, and King Robert's mercenaries slaughtered to
a man. Pope John XXII., who was entirely under the
influence of King Robert, refused to recognise the new
rulers of Ferrara. The city was put under an interdict,
and the Marquises excommunicated.^ Thus the House
of Este was driven into the arms of the Ghibellines.

Four years had passed since the death of Henry of
Luxembiu-g, and the Ghibelline cause, which had seemed
lost beyond hope, was now predominant in Lombardy.
Matteo Visconti ruled, directly or through his sons, over
Milan and six lesser cities.^ Lodi and Como were under
the rule the one of the Vistarini, the other of the

elected Signore. Thus Cremona, like Pavia, was swallowed up by
Milan.

* According to Muratori the sentence of excommunication was
pronounced in 1320.

* Pavia, Piacenza, Bergamo, Tortona, Novara, Alessandria.

416 THB LOMBARD OOMIITTNES

Rusconi, both allied to the lord of Milan. Can Gdtade
della Scala held Verona and Vicenza, and was dafly
gaining ground on Padua and Treviso. Mantua and
Modena obeyed Passerino Bonaccolsi. Parma isas
Ghibelline, so now was Ferrara. The Guelf Bresda
was hard pressed by the exiles, who held a large pro-
portion of the Contado. Cremona was helpless, torn by
the rival factions of Ponzoni and Cavalcabo. Only in
Piedmont, where King Robert's power was strong, did
the Guelfs hold their own.

But it is an invariable feature in the struggle between
the two factions that no sooner does the balance of
success seem to incline decisively to one side than it
begins to move back again in the opposite direction.
The declining Guelf cause was revived by the action of
the Pope.

Althou^ the Guelfs called themselves the Party of the
Church, yet for years no Pope had intervened in their
favour in Lombardy. The Papacy, since the death of
Conradin, had generally aimed at pacifying the contend-
ing parties. If the Popes had had any quarrel with the
cities during the last forty-five years, it had been usoally
with the Guelfs. The Della Torre and the Guelf Com-
munes of Parma and Bologna had more than once fallen
under the censures of the Church. The Visponti, on the
other hand, bad never incurred such censures. The
Della Scala, too, as a rule, had avoided a breach with
the Papacy.* There had been peace between the Pope
and Emperor under Rudolf of Habsburg and his suc-
cessors ; Henry of Luxemburg had, as we have seen,
undertaken his Italian expedition in full accord with
Pope Clement V.

Now, however, there comes a change. Once more

' Verona had been excommttnicated in 1267, for supporting
Conradin. The sentence was revoked after his death. In 1273
Mastino della Scala persecuted the heretical sects which flourished
in Verona. In 1276 the city was laid under an interdict for sup-
porting Alfonso of Castile. In 1278 it was reconciled with the
Church, and there was no further quarrel for forty years (CipoUa
p. 183).

VISOONTI AND DELLA SOALA 417

there is a breach between the Empire and the Papacy ;
and the quarrel gives fresh vigour (if possible) to the
Italian factions. Now that the Popes resided at Avignon
they had come under the influence of the Kings of
Naples, whom, we must remember, were also Counts
of Provence, and of their cousins the royal house of
France. King Robert of Naples was aiming at the
sovereignty of all Italy. The rights of the Empire were
the chief obstacle in his path. To crush the upholders
of these rights must then be his first object. Hence his
opposition to Henry VII., and his hostility to all the
Ghibelline party. He used the Pope as an instrument
Already, after Henry's death, he had induced Clement V.
to name him Imperial Vicar in Italy. Clement was suc-
ceeded in 1 316 by John XXII., who was entirely under
Robert's influence.

A disputed election in Germany gave Pope and King a
free hand south of the Alps. Pope John refused to
recognise either of the claimants, Louis of Bavaria and
Frederick of Austria, as lawful Emperor-elect. In acting
thus he was obeying the orders of King Robert, to whom
a protracted interregnum in Germany was all-important.

His first step in Robert's favour was to forbid any one
to continue to use the title of Imperial Vicar in Italy
without the leave of the Holy See. This measure, aimed
at the Ghibelline despots, was followed in 1320 by a
fresh nomination of Robert as Vicar over all the lands
of the Empire in Italy. Matteo Visconti saw the danger
of a more active Papal intervention on the side of the
Guelfs. He so far respected the Papal commands as to
lay aside the title of Vicar ; but instead he had himself
elected by the people as lord of Milan with the title of
" Dominus Generalis."

There was no intermission in his activity against the
Guelfs. Early in 1318 he sent a strong force under
Marco, the best general of all his sons, to lay siege to
Genoa in concert with the banished Genoese Ghibellines.
King Robert himself. came to the help of the beleaguered
city. Thanks to his valour and that of his followers,
Genoa resisted all assaults. After a year of constant

418 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

fighting dissensions broke out in the Ghibelline camp^
and their forces withdrew from before the walls. But in
six months' time Marco was once more before the city,
while twenty-eight galleys Uockaded the port*

King Robert, bent on Matteo's destruction, had in the
meantime left Genoa for Avignon, to stir up the Pope to
active measures against the Ghibellines. On his side, he
collected a large body of French and Provencal troo{>s,
and sent them into Italy under the command of his
cousin, Philip of Valois, afterwards King of France.
With Philip came the Cardinal Bertrand de Poi^t,
charged to order Matteo, under pain of excommunication,
to lay down his lordship. The Visconti were forced to
concentrate their forces for the defence of their own
territories ; but the warfare round Genoa went on with
varied fortunes for years.

On Philip's arrival at Asti he found the Guelfs of
Vercelli hard pressed by the troops of Visconti and the
exiled Tizzoni. His first move was to the relief of the
city. Matteo sent against him an army said to have
amounted to five thousand horse and thirty thousand
foot — ^a force with which the French prince was utterly
unable to cope. He remained for two days in a strongly
fortified camp, and then, without striking a blow, retired
and did not halt until he had reached France. He de-
clared that he could attempt nothing with the forces at
his disposal ; but the deluded Guelfs declared that he
had been corrupted by Visconti's gold.

Worldly arms having failed, the Cardinal tried spiritual
weapons. Matteo was ordered to resign his power
over Milan, to recall all exiles, and to recognise King
Robert as lord of the city. On his refusal he was excom-
municated, together with the lords of Verona, Mantua,
and Ferrara, and all his partisans.

Success still favoured the Ghibellines. In 1321
Vercelli was forced to surrender. In the same year

' The first siege lasted from February, 1318, until the following
February. In July, 13 19, the Ghibellines were again before the city.
The Ghibellines had manned twenty-eight galleys, the Guelfs thirty-
two. Peace was not restored until 1331.

VISCONTI AND DELLA SCALA 419

Galeazzo Visconti laid siege to Cremona, Jacopo Caval-
cabo, lord of the city, went to seek for help at Bologna.
On his return he found the Po held against him. Turn-
ing aside into the territory of Piacenza, he was there
defeated and slain by Galeazzo. Cremona, cut ofiF from
outside help, held out till January, 1322. Then it fell,
and thus the second great rival of Milan passed under
the yoke of its ancient foe.

Experience had shown how little eflFect the censures of
the Church had on Italian minds. In the days of the
Hohenstaufens, to be excommunicated or under an
interdict had been, so to speak, the normal state of one-
half of the cities of the peninsula. But Matteo Visconti
was growing old. He had been all his life a God-fearing
man ; now, in his old age, he was profoundly a£Fected by
being shut out from the Church. He reopened negotia-
tions with the Cardinal Legate, and sent twelve of the
chief Milanese to treat for a reconciliation. The Cardinal
insisted that Matteo should renounce his power. At the
same time discontent began to show itself in the city.
Many of the nobles were jealous of the Visconti, the
people murmured at being shut out from the Church
and exposed to the dangers of war, in order to gratify the
ambition of one family. Matteo began to waver ; a large
party in Milan declared in favour of peace.

News of this was crried to Galeazzo at Piacenza.
Hastening to Milan, he declared to the partisans of his
house that age had weakened Matteo's intellect, and
demanded that his father should abdicate in his favour.
By his arguments, backed by those of his brothers, he
persuaded the old man to give up his half-formed plan
of submitting to the Church. Matteo laid down his
power, but it was in favour of his son Galeazzo. The
few remaining months of his life he spent in prayer and
pilgrimages to the various churches in and round Milan,
imploring God's mercy, and calling on all the faithful
to bear witness to his belief in all the doctrines of the
CathoHc Church. While visiting Monza, where he had
restored the church treasure and the Imperial regalia,
pawned by the Delia Torre during their ascendancy, he

420 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

fell ill and died in June 1322, With his last brealh he
exhorted his sons to make their peace with the pontii.

The crimes of Matteo's descendants have made &e
name of Visconti odious. But though he himself vas
not exempt from faults, yet in his long career we find
more to praise than to blame. He was clement, sub-
missive to the will of God, constant in adversity, moderate
in victory. He was a capable soldier ; but it was to his
political foresight and his profound knowledge of men,
more than to his abilities in war, that he owed his po^^.
His contemporaries called him // Magno — ^the Great—
Matteo. He established the rule of his family in Milan
on what proved to be a durable foundation. We may
regret the blotting out of Milan from the list of the free
Communes, but we must remember that liberty had
already disappeared without Matteo being responsible
for its loss; and his rule at least gave internal peace.
While Cremona was turned by her own citizens into a
heap of ruins, and Pavia sank daily more and more to
decay, Milan, under Matteo's wise guidance, was rapidly
becoming the mistress of Lombardy.

While the Visconti in Central Lombardy were laying
the foundations of the most extensive of the sovereignties
which grew up on the ruins of the Conmiunes, another
house was rising to power in the Mark, which for a time
was to play the leading rSle among the Italian despots.
We have already seen how the people of Verona, to
protect themselves from the Counts of San Bonifazio
and their noble partisans, had chosen Mastino della Scah
as their Podesta after Ezzelino's death. During the res:
of his life he held de facto the lordship of the city, though
in theory the republican institutions continued in fora.
After his murder in 1277 ^^^ brother Albert was choseo
Captain of the People for life, and given power to amend
the statutes of the Commune at pleasure, as well as to
control the election of the Podesta and other magistrates.

Verona prospered under the rule of Mastino and
Alberto. For a time, it is true, the Counts of Sac
Bonifazio and their party harassed the Contado, or
fomented conspiracies in the city. There were also

I t

VISCONTI AND DELLA SCALA 421

occasional wars with Padua or Vicenza. But the
acquisition of the lordship of Mantua by the Bonac-
colsi and the consequent adherence of that city to the
Ghibellines put an end to the old enmity between
Mantua and Verona. Henceforward these cities were in
close alliance ; the long south-western frontier of Verona
was secure from attack, and the San Bonifazio were
deprived of their chief base of operations. During the
later years of Mastino's rule and during that of Alberto
and his immediate successors the wars they engaged in
were nearly all fought out at a distance from Verona ;
the lands of that city were practically unmolested. It
would seem that the Mark, exhausted by Ezzelino's rule,
sought a breathing space in which to recover from its
suflFerings. Compared with the rest of Italy, it enjoyed
peace for nearly fifty years.

Alberto died in 1301, leaving behind him the character
of a pious, merciful, and wise ruler. His eldest son and
successor, Bartolommeo, is chiefly famous for the hos-
pitality which he afforded to the exiled Dante, who
celebrates him in the well-known lines —

" Lo primo tuo rifugio e'l primo ostello
Sara la cortesia del gran Lombardo
Che in sulla scala porta il santo augello."

A more fictitious renown attaches to him as the ruler of
Verona, in whose time the loves of Romeo and Juliet are
said to have run their tragic course. He died, lamented
by his subjects, in 1304.1

His brother and successor, Alboino, increased his
^power by having himself elected perpetual Podesta of
the Merchants, as well as Captain of the city and of
the popolo. Dante speaks slightingly of Alboino, who,
however, seems to have played a creditable part in the
wars of his time. In 1308 he associated with himself
in the government his young brother Francesco, better
known as Can Grande della Scala, the most famous man

' Cipolla, in his "Compendio della Storia Politica di Verona/'
gives what seem to be conclusive reasons for identifying Barto-
lommeo with Dante's " gran Lombardo." He declares against the
authenticity of the legend of Romeo and Juliet

422 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

of his house, and perhaps the most attractive figure in
the whole series of Italian despots.

The average Italian party Ic^er was first and foremost
a politician. He ruled more by intelligence than by
martial prowess* The chivalrous feelings, the sentiment
of honour which inspired the warriors of the countries
beyond the Alps were almost unknown to him. His
own interests and those of his party were the chief
guides of his conduct. The ruder men of the north
despised the statecraft of the Italians, which they looked
on — and not without cause — ^as duplicity. But Cane was
not merely a wise ruler and a skilled diplomatist ; he
was also a soldier imbued with knightly ideals. An
Alberto Scotto, a Ghiberto da Correggio would have
been woefully out of place at the northern courts
frequented by Froissart. But in Cane della Scala we
find an Italian knight who might have figured honour-
ably in the pages of that chronicler by the side of a
Walter Manny or a Du Guesclin.^

He was the first of the Lombard despots to enter on
the road followed by so many of the later dynasties, and
to give his patronage to letters and art. At his splendid
court all the eminent men of the day found a cordial
welcome. According to the testimony of one of his
guests, Gazata of Reggio, '^ different apartments, accord-
ing to their various conditions, were assigned to them in
the palace of the lord della Scala: to each he gave
attendants, and each had his table elegantly served in
his own quarters. Their various rooms were marked by
symbols and devices : triumph for warriors, hope for
exiles, the Muses for poets. Mercury for artists. Paradise
for preachers."

Among the exiles sheltered at his court was the great
Ghibelline leader, Uguccione della Fagginola, some time
lord of Pisa and Lucca. A curious example of the
instability of the political life of the time is that he is
said to have found there more than twenty other
dispossessed despots.

' " He was always foremost in the fight," says a chronicler of
Reggio of Cao Grande.

VISOONn AND BELLA SCALA 423

Another distinguished visitor was Giotto^ the father of
modern Italian painting. Can Grande had keen artistic
tastes, and under his patronage a local school of painting
sprang up, which made Verona the centre of art in Upper
Italy.

But the greatest of all Can Grande's guests was the
Florentile exile, Dante. The nobles of the ''Marca
gioiosa" had long been famous for their patronage of
poetry. The Troubadours of Provence, the epic writers
of Northern France had found a cordial welcome in the
castles of the San Bonifazio and the Camposampiero.
More than one native of this part of Italy had won fame
by his compositions in the Provencal tongue. This was
before the vulgar tongue of Italy itself had been employed
for literary purposes. Now that it had been so employed
and had reached perfection in the works of the great
Florentine, Italian poetry received an enthusiastic wel-
come at the court of the Scaligers. Its greatest repre-
sentative had found with Bartolommeo ** his first refuge
and his first resting-place." He came again to Verona
under Cane's rule.

He found a warm friend and admirer in the great
warrior. Popular tradition, indeed, declares that the
latter did not always appreciate at its full worth the
severe and lofty genius of the poet. Yet their relations
were always cordial. The last cantica of the ^'Divine
Comedy " was dedicated to him ; the various cantos were
forwarded to him from Ravenna as they were completed.
A letter, about the authenticity of which there is still
much dispute, is extant, purporting to give Cane an
exposition of the poet's aim in composing the ''Com-
media." The best witness to their relations are, however,
Dante's own words : —

" His deeds magnificent shall still proclaim
His praise so loudly, that his very foes
Shall be compelled to celebrate his fame."'

Other lesser writers, some of them anonymous, bear wit-
ness to the splendours of Verona under Cane's rule.
> » Paradiso/' Canto XVII.

424 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

'' There you might hear Germans, Latins, Frenchmen,
Flemings, Englishmen speaking together; there you
might hear disputes on astrology, philosophy, and
theology/'

And another says, ''Lament him, ye Veronese mer-
chants ; those from near and those from afar used to go
secure through all his lands with all their goods." <

Henry of Luxemburg found the Scaligers too firmly
rooted in Verona to be treated like the other Lombard
despots. He did indeed send an Imperial Vicar to the
city, but the Scaligers were too strong for him, and in
March, 131 1, he was recalled and his office given to
Alboino and Cane. Shortly after this a revolution
in Vicenza gave the brothers the opportunity of greatly
adding to their power.

Vicenza had been subject to Padua for forty-six years.
There was, of course, a party in the city who resented
this ; and they, taking advantage of the scarcely veiled
hostility of the Paduans to Henry, received help from
him which enabled them to rise suddenly and expel the
Paduan garrison. Can Grande had had a part in this
enterprise, which led as a matter of course to hostilities
between Padua and Verona and to a revolt of the former
Commune against Henry. This was before Henry had
left Genoa for Tuscany, and the Paduans, not yet feeling
able to brave his anger, soon sent the historian Mussato
to seek a reconciliation with the Emperor-elect Mus-
sato, one of the most learned men of his day, and the
man in whom we may see the precursor of the humanists
of the next century, was one of the chiefs of the moderate
party in Padua which deprecated an open breach with
the Empire. By his efforts peace was made and the
freedom of Vicenza recognised.

" Many-domed Padua proud " had by this time com-
pletely recovered from the calamities it had suffered under
Ezzelino. Alone among Italian cities it had been prac-
tically free from internal discord. Prom an early period
the government had had a marked democratic form,
and the nobles had been too completely beaten down
> apolla, ** Storia di Verona."

VISOONTI AND DELIA SOALA 425

by Ezzelino to be able to play any important part in the
Commune after his downfall. The artisans had by now
gained a large share in the administration. So popular
was the form of government that the Senate consisted of
a thousand men renewed annually. The fertility of its
territory, its advantageous position near Venice, the
renown of its university, had all added to the wealth
of the city. Evidences of this wealth and of the public
spirit of the burghers remain to us to this day in the
marvellous roof of the Palazzo della Ragione, or Senate
House, constructed in 1306 after the plans of an Augus-
tinian monk, who copied a palace roof which he had
seen during his missionary wanderings in India, and in
the famous church of Saint Anthony, completed in 1307.'
To tranquillity within we must add peace abroad. For
all these reasons Ferreto, the contemporary Vicentine
writer, claims that in the year 131 1 (the commencement
of a new era of discord in the Mark) the Paduans and
their subjects of Vicenza were of all earthly peoples
the most fortunate.

Alboino della Scala died in November, 131 1, leaving
Cane sole ruler. In the following spring war again
broke out with Padua. Alarmed at the report that
Cane had been made Imperial Vicar in Vicenza, the
Paduans flew to arms. With their allies, Treviso and
the Marquis Francesco of Este, the Guelf exiles from
Verona, and the mercenaries whom they took into their
pay,* they were able to put into the field ten thousand
horse and forty thousand foot. But a capable general
was wanting to this great army. Beyond ravaging the
lands of Vicenza it accomplished nothing.

The war had important e£Fects on the internal con-
dition of Vicenza and Padua. In the former city Can
Grande, under the pretext of the exigencies of war, was
able to become absolute master. Seditions broke out in
Padua, caused by the suspicions of the mob as to the

' Other monuments of this period are the church of the
Eremitani^ and the Capella dell' Arena with Giotto's frescoes.

* Two En^sh leaders served among these mercenaries
(Sismondi).

426 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

good faith of some of the leading citizens, or by discon-
tent at the burden of taxation. In one such riot William
of Camposampiero was murdered by the mob in the
Palazzo Publico; in another more violent one in 13 14
two demagogues, Ronco di Agolante and Pietro degli
Alticlini, who had practically acquired the control of
the government, were torn to pieces with their sons
or brothers by the infuriated multitude stirred up by
the noble family of Carrara.

Ronco and Pietro had grown rich by usury and had
made use of their political influence to enrich tiiemselves
still farther. Their private enemies, or those who excited
their cupidity, were, it is said, accused of treason and
imprisoned in loathsome dungeons in the palace of the
Altichini until they died or gave up their property. Their
oppressive conduct made them odious to the mob ; the
nobles and the more moderate Guelfs were disgusted at
their influence in the state. Once popular fury was
aroused the mass of the people were easily persuaded
to believe them guilty of the most atrocious crimes. A
terrible sedition ensued, and for three or four days the
whole city was in the hands of the populace, who far
outstripped the limits which the more elderly members
of the House of Carrara strove to impose on their action.
Many real or supposed partisans of the demagogues
perished ; the houses of others were sacked ; in some
cases advantage was taken of the confusion to satisfy
private enmities. Among the sufferers was Mussato,
accused of having invented a new system of taxation
to oppress the poor. His house was attacked, and he
himself escaped with difficulty from the city. The
effqrts of the magistrates at length restored tranquillity.
The tumult added immensely to the influence of the
Da Carrara family.

In the September following this tumult the Paduans
under their Podest^ Ponzino Ponzoni of Cremona, the
same who afterwards joined the Ghibellines and obtained
for a moment the lordship of his native city, attempted
to surprise Vicenza. The time had gone by when the
burgher infantry of the Communes opposed their serried

VISOONn AND BELLA SOALA 427

ranks to the onslaught of the chivalry of Barbarossa or
of his grandson The merchants and artificers had
become averse to long-continued service in the field,
they had neglected more and more to train themselves
to the arts of war. At the same time the armour and
training of cavalry had improved, until finally they had
reached such perfection as to enable horse to overcome
all but the steadiest and best-trained foot. The strength
of an army at this period consisted entirely in the mounted
men, who were composed of the nobles, whose wealth
and leisure enabled them to go through the arduous
training necessary for the heavily armed horseman, or
of professional soldiers trained to arms from childhood,
who hired themselves out to the highest bidder.

The Paduans sent against Vicenza a large force of
these mercenaries besides their own burgher levies.
Of the efficiency of the latter we can judge when we
hear that fifteen hundred carts were necessary to trans-
port their provisions and baggage the nineteen miles
which separate the two cities, and that most of tliem
marched with their weapons piled up on the baggage
train.

The army arrived before Vicenza at daybreak, and
finding the sentries asleep, captured without a blow
the suburb of San Pietro. But the city itself, sepa-
rated from the suburb by the River Bacchiglione, was
alarmed in time, and the Veronese Podesta exerted
himself to secure the walls and to prevent any rising
of the townsmen. The Paduans proved incapable of
following up their first success. The burgher forces
began to pitch a camp outside the suburb; the mer-
cenaries who were left to guard the gate connecting
the latter with the town fell to plundering. Soon they
were joined by the dregs of the Paduan populace, come
out to share in the hoped-for conquest. Their example
infected the Paduan soldiers. Churches, monasteries,
and private houses were sacked, and the provisions
and munitions of war were taken from the carts and
scattered on the ground to make room for the spoil.

Can Grande was in Verona when news of Vicenza's

428 THE LOMBARD COMMUNBS

danger reached him. Armed only with a bow he
sprang on his horse, and followed by one squire
reached Vicenza after a four hours' gallop. Stopping
only to take a draught of wine o£Fered to him by a
woman of the people, he ordered one of the gates
to be thrown open and at the head of less than a
hundred mounted men rushed out against the enemy.
Panic-stricken and in entire disorder, the besieging
force fled. A few mounted nobles alone attempted
any resistance. They were easily scattered, and the
historian Mussato and Giacomo da Carrara, who were
among them, were captured. As the number of those
who first issued from the gates with Cane was so small,
and the mass of the Paduans had not attempted to make
the slightest stand, the number of prisoners was not
very great, only about thirty nobles and seven hundred
plebeians. But all their baggage train and arms fell to
the victors. Significant of the way in which the Italian
wars of the time were waged is the number of the killed,
six nobles and thirty of the popolo.

This great exploit of the young Cane — ^he was then
little more than twenty-three — led to peace. But three
years afterwards war broke out again, this time occasioned
by a fresh attempt on Vicenza by the exiles of that city,
Verona, and Mantua, in league with a party inside the
walls. Cane, instructed of the plot in time, allowed two
hundred of the assailants to enter by a gate which they
believed was opened by their friends. Then, closing
this, he fell on them and killed or captured them alL
The force outside the walls was attacked and routed,
amongst the prisoners being Count Viciguerra of San
Bonifazio, who died shortly afterwards of his wounds.'

The Commune of Padua had not ofiBcially been
engaged in this attempt on Vicenza ; but the extreme
Guelf party in the city had organised it and participated

* Thus, half a century after their expulsion from Verona, tide
family of San Bonifazio were still trying to recover their former
position. According to the " Annales Mediolanenses/* Viciguerra had
been induced by Henry VII. to sell all his claims on the Veronese
territory to Cane for ;£ioo/xx> " of small money."

VICBN2A.

Church op San Lorenzo.

fate page 428.

VISOONTI AND DELLA 8CALA 429

in it. Cane refused to listen to the excuses of the
Paduan government and renewed the war. He soon
made himself master of the strong fortresses of Montag-
nana, Este, and Monselice, and reduced Padua to sue for
peace, which he granted on rigorous conditions.

The Paduans saw clearly that any peace with the
ambitious lord of Verona could be little more than
a truce. A faction in the city declared that their only
hope of avoiding falling under a foreign yoke was to
concentrate all power in the hands of one man. It is
worth while giving the speech of one of the partisans
of this measure as recorded by Ferreto, in order to see
what were the arguments which caused so many cities
to resign their liberties into the hands of a lord.

" The abuse of popular votes," said the speaker, or says
Ferreto in his name, " brings us as we have seen towards
certain ruin. Let us try whether the laws of a single
man will not bring us a better fate. Everything on the
earth is subject to a single will ; the members obey the
head ; the flocks recognise a leader ; if the whole universe
depended on a just king we would see the end of
carnage, war, rapine, and all shameful actions. Let us
obey the voice of Nature, let us follow the examples she
gives us : let us choose our prince from amongst us.
Let him take on himself all the cares of government ; let
him guide the republic by his will ; let him renew the
edicts ; let him do away with those which have become
obsolete ; let him be, in a word, the lord and protector
of all we possess."

The man thus pointed out to the Paduans as their
future lord was Giacomo da Carrara, head of a noble
house which had suffered much from the tyranny of
Ezzelino. Of late years this family had been head of the
moderate Guelfs ; and Giacomo, who had, as we have
seen, been captured by Can Grande before Vicenza, was
supposed by many to be secretly on the friendliest terms
with his captor. In July, I3i8,the Paduan people hailed
him as their lord.

In the meantime Cane was prominently engaged in all
the affairs of Lombardy. Brescia, Cremona, Modena

430 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

(which in 13 18 had revolted from Bonaccolsi), Treviso,
all in turn bore witness to his activity. At a conventiofi
of the Ghibelline leaders, held towards the end of 1318,
he was named Captain-General of their League. Next
year he pressed Treviso so hard that the l:nirghers in
despair turned to Frederick of Austria, one of the com-
petitors for the^Empire. He sent the Count of Goriziaas
Imperial Vicar with a German garrison, and the Trevisans
found that to escape an Italian they had given themselves
a German master.

The supposed friendship between Cane and the new
ruler of Padua did not save that city from a new attack
in 1 3 19. In concert with the Marquises of Este, now, as
we have seen, Ghibellines, Cane laid siege to Padna.
Giacomo was forced to JfoUow the example of the
Trevisans, and to offer his so lately acquired lordship
to the Austrian Duke and his lieutenant. The offer
was accepted ; and in August, 1320, when practically the
whole Contado had been conquered and the city itself
was reduced to great extremities, a strong German force
under the Count of Gorizia entered Padua by night,
unperceived by the besiegers. Next day they sallied out
and utterly routed Cane's forces. He himself fled alone
towards Monselice, hotly pursued, and only a chance
meeting with a countryman leading a fresh horse enabled
him to escape.

This defeat led to a fresh peace with Padua early in
1321. But it imposed no permanent check on his
activity. In the same year he captured Feltre, driving
out Guecelo da Camino, who had tried to seize the town
on the death of its Bishop. Following up this success
he made himself master of Belluno.

During the next few years we find Cane attacking the
Guelfs in the territories of Reggio, Brescia, and Piacenza.
But none the less his chief efforts were directed against
Padua and Treviso. The Count of Gorizia had died in
1323. To supply his place Padua and Treviso invoked
in turn the help of Frederick of Austria, of his brother
Henry, Duke of Carinthia, and finally of Louis the
Bavarian, whom the decisive victory of Muhldorf in 1322

VISCONTI AND BELLA 8CALA 431

had left as undisputed sovereign of Germany. Thus
these two Guelf cities had to turn to Germany, and
even to the Emperor-elect, for protection against the
Ghibellines 1

Cane's diplomacy as well as his skill in war proved
too much for all the efforts ^f the two cities. In vain
they received a Vicar from Henry of Carinthia, in vain
Louis confirmed him in the office, in vain now one, now
the other prince obtained for them a truce. Dissensions
among the citizens and among the members of the
Carrara family still farther weakened Padua. In 1328
the city was so hard pressed that Marsilio, brother of
Giacomo (who had died in 1324), saw nothing left but
to make what terms he could for himself at the expense
of the interests of his country. Terms were soon
arranged. Marsilio was to govern Padua under Cane,
and to receive the property of various wealthy exiles.
Cane's nephew Mastino was to marry Taddea, daughter
of Giacomo.

The lordship of the Carrara family had nominally
come to an end when the German Vicar of Frederick of
Austria had been received. But Marsilio, introducing
large bodies of armed contadini into the city, had himself
proclaimed Signore. Four days after the election he
surrendered Padua, as he had promised, to Can Grande.

Thus Padua passed for the second time into the hands
of a ruler of Verona. But Cane's government was very
different from that of Ezzelino. By the mildness of his
rule he sought to win the affection of his new subjects,
and by his care to repair the damages caused by seven-
teen years of almost constant war. What is more re-
markable in that age of perfidy, he kept faith with
Marsilio.

Treviso soon shared Padua's fate. Cut off from all
Italian allies, having no hope left of farther German aid,
the city surrendered to Cane in July, 1329, after a siege
which had lasted a fortnight. Can Grande had now
attained to a degree of power greater than had ever been
reached by Ezzelino. He was master of the whole Mark,
as well as of Cividale in Friuli. The lord of Ferrara

432 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

was his ally, the lord of Mantua almost his vassal. But
death cut him short at the height of his power. Font
days after his entry into Treviso he died of a sickness,
probably caused by the fatigues of the siege. He was
succeeded by his nephews Alberto and Mastino, sons of
Alboino.

If Cane had lived longer he might have founded a
stable Power in North-east Italy, and even have attained
to a royal crown. But the Scaligers were a short-lived
race. Cane was only thirty-eight when he died. Five
other despots of this family ruled Verona in the years
t>etween 1329 and 1387, in which latter year the House of
La Scala fell before the all-powerful Visconti.

Can Grande's is the first in point of time of the
wonderful series of monuments erected by the Scaligers
in the little piazza which opens off the Piazza dei Signori.^
It is of a simplicity remarkable by its contrast with the
more elaborate tombs of his successor.

On the lid of the sarcophagus, which is placed over
the doorway of the little church of Santa Maria Antica,
the recumbent figure of the lord of Verona is carved,
clothed in a long civic robe, the head bound round by a
simple fillet. Four pillars support a lofty canopy ; and
on the top of this Cane's mail-clad effigy sits on a noble
war-horse. Below the sarcophagus are carved some
Latin lines which preserves an echo of Dante's line—

''Wondrous shall be his works."

As the power of the despots rested on no recognised
legal basis there was no fixed rule of succession. Some-
times several brothers succeeded jointly to their father's
heritage, sometimes the father named his heir, or one
more energetic than the rest seized on all power — ^this
last a fruitful source in later times of endless plots and
countless fratricides. But Alberto della Scala, intent
only on a life of pleasure, gladly resigned the govern-
ment to his more energetic younger brother Mastino.

■ The tomb supposed to be that of Alberto is a simple
sarcophagus.

ti^^^Hlg^lH^HB^^^^^'''-*' ^^^^^^^^

ce page 43a.

From Bi§nnann's " Verona."

Tomb of Can Guande della Scala.

VISCONTI AND DELLA SOALA 433

The constitution of Verona at this time gives us an
excellent illustration of how in some cases the old
republican forms of government remained unchanged
in theory under the rule of a despot. The old com-
munal institutions seemed at first sight but little altered.
There was still a foreign Podesta, guided by a Council
of "Ancients," fifteen in number, of whom nine were
taken from the heads of the Arti. There were still the
smaller council of eighty, and the greater of five hundred
members, besides various other councils, and, in theory,
the direction of affairs was in their hands.

But in practice the Signore was absolute. He had the
deciding voice in the choice of the Podesti, he elected
the Great Council, in the selection of the other councils
and of all the officials his wishes were paramount. The
keys of the gates were in his hands, seven of the chief
castles of the Contado were directly in his charge, the
Commune having resigned all claim on them. Podesta,
councils, magistrates, all swore fidelity to him. In
addition to this he was lifelong Captain of the People
and Podesta of the Merchants. And in the statutes of
the Commune was inserted a clause providing that the
lord della Scala might alter, annul, or add to the statutes
at his pleasure. The Signore, like the Roman Emperors,
is looked on as the ultimate source of all law.

The statutes of Verona give many interesting details
as to the management of public affairs. Four foreign
judges, elected yearly, decided important matters. Twelve
others, called consuls, adjudicated in minor matters.
Two friars of the order of the Umiliati managed the
finances. They were assisted by o£Bcials, whose business
it was to supervise the collection of the revenues and to
devise means to improve them. There was careful pro-
vision for auditing all accounts. The public health, the
roads, canals, rivers, public buildings, the public records,
the poor, all had officials to look after them. Clerics
were expressly excluded from all offices except the
control of the finances.

Education, too, was provided for by the state. In the
closing years of the thirteenth century there were public

434 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

chairs of law^ i^ijrsic, logic, grammar, canon law, and
arithmetic in Verona, besides the ordinary grammar
schools to be found in every Italian city. In civilisation
Lombardy, at the opening of the fourteenth century,
was, in spite of its never-ending feuds, far ahead of aU
other European lands.

CHAPTER XV

THE LAST STRUGGLES OP THE COMMUNES

We must now return to the history of Milan and the
adjacent cities. The death of Matteo Visconti in June,
1322, was followed by a sudden decline in the fortunes
of his house. The Papal legate, Bertrand de Poi^t, had
assembled a large army in order to attack Milan in
case of the failure of die negotiations which he had
opened with many of the leading citizens. In September
the Rossi, who in 1316 had united with the San Vitale
to expel Ghiberto da Correggio from Parma, suddenly
changed round, and joining with Ghiberto's sons expelled
their former allies. Then they sent to the legate and
gave the lordship of Parma to the Pope during the
vacancy of the Empire. Reggio, which had been in
Guelf hands since 131 1, followed this example and
received a Papal Vicar as Governor.

Thus strengthened by the adhesion of two important
cities, the legate's power was still further increased in
October by the capture of Piacenza. Galeazzo Visconti
had grievously injured Verzusio, head of the Ghibelline
Landi, and had driven him into exile. While Galeazzo
was at Milan, trying to cope with the discontent pre*
valent there, Landi obtained a large force of cavalry
from Cardinal de Poi^t, rode secretly to Piacenza, and
was admitted by a breach made by his partisans within
the walls. Galeazzo's young son Azzo, who had been
left at Piacenza, escaped owing to the presence of mind
of his mother, Beatrice of Este, who delayed the attack
on her palace by scattering coin from the windows.
While the Papal soldiers were occupied in gathering
up the wealth thus showered on them Azzo had time to

436 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

reach the gates and escape. His mother, who reimbed
behind, was restored to her husband under honoorafak
escort Piacenza then followed the example set by
Parma and gave itself to the Pope. Verzusio Lasdi
gained nothing from his change of front, except revenge.
He and the other Ghibellines were expelled ^lortiy
afterwards by the Guelf Scotti and Fontaoa.

In the meantime the legate was negotiating witii son^
of the leading nobles of Milan who were jealous of the
power of the Visconti, and disinclined to expose them-
selves to war and excommunication to satisfy the
ambition of one family. The malcontents gained over
Lodrisio Visconti, cousin of Galeazzo, as well as the
German mercenaries whose pay was in arrears. In
November an insurrection broke out; and Galeazzo,
after a vain attempt at resistance, was forced to abandoQ
the city and seek a refuge with his allies the Vistarini
of Lodi.

But the Milanese, now for more than sixty years
accustomed to the rule of one man, were incapable of
setting up any stable form of government in its stead
The nobles who had organised the revolution relied oo
the legate to supply the sums necessary for the pay
of the mercenaries, while at the same time attempting to
preserve the Ghibelline predominance. A Frenchman,
claiming kinship with the Torriani, was made Captain
of the People, but the Delia Torre and their partisans
were not recalled. The legate, on his side, hoped to
get full possession of the city, and withheld the promised
money. The Guelfs in the Contado began to move, and
seized Monza.

The German mercenaries soon repented of their
action ; and even Lodrisio Visconti began to see that
by driving out Galeazzo he had only injured himseli
and all his family. The result was that Lodrisio invited
Galeazzo back to Milan. He returned just a month
after his expulsion, and was once more proclaimed
Signore.

His difficulties were not at an end. Cardinal de Poiet,
having failed to get possession of Milan by peaceful

THE LAST STRUGGLES 437

means, now organised a great attack on the city. He
possessed considerable ability as a diplomatist and ad-
ministrator, and was soon at the head of a formidable
army. The Pope had collected great sums of money
from the clergy throughout all Western Europe for his
enterprise against the Visconti and their partisans. Thus
he was able to put in the field a large force of mer-
cenaries from Germany and France, King Robert sent
Provencals and Neapolitans, and a skilful leader, the
Aragonese Raymond of Cardona, Florence, Bologna,
the Emilian cities, and the Communes of Piedmont
ivhich were under King Robert sent their contingents.
The Delia Torre, Pagano, Patriarch of Aquileia at their
head, came to the muster, as well as those Milanese
nobles who had been most compromised in the rising
against Galeazzo. In all the Papal army numbered
eight thousand horse and thirty thousand foot

Spiritual weapons were also made use of. The
Visconti, Estensi, and other Ghibelline lords were
accused of heresy, condemned, and sentenced to be
deprived of all their possessions. To those who joined
the legate's army the same indulgences were granted
as if they had joined a Crusade.

In February, 1323, Tortona, in April Alessandria
surrendered to Raymond of Cardona. The bulk of the
Papal army had in the meantime entered the Milanese
territory. By April a large number of the fortresses of
the Contado, as well as the important town of Monza,
were in its hands. By the middle of June it was in
possession of the suburbs of Milan.

Galeazzo's forces were sufficient to defend the walls,
and it would seem that in this emergency he was able
to rely on the loyalty of the burghers. But an unex-
pected danger threatened him from his German
mercenaries. The legate made them secret offers of
great rewards if they would deliver up Galeazzo into
his hands. There was little loyalty in the breasts of
the mercenaries of that age, and the legate's proposals
found a ready acceptance. The Germans rose suddenly
and attempted to seize or kill the ruler of Milan. He,

438 THE LOMBARD COMMITNES

however, escaped to his fortified palace, and was able
to secure it against the first assault of the mercenaries.
Before they could force an entrance, Giovanni Visoonti,
Bishop of Novara, and at a later date Archbishop and
lord of Milan, hurried to his brother's help with all
the Italian troops he could collect. The Germans
saw themselves surrounded by overwhelming forces
and throwing down their arms, they sought for
mercy. Galeazzo pardoned them, and as a sign of
their repentance they induced ten companies of
Germans serving in the Papal army to come over
to the side of Visconti.

Meanwhile Galeazzo had sent for help to Louis of
Bavaria, whom the Pope had so far refused to
recognise as lawful Emperor-elect. The danger of
seeing Milan fall into the hands of the Pope, and so
into those of King Robert, the most determined
opponent of the rights of the Empire in Italy
outweighed in Louis's mind the risk of an open
breach with Rome. He sent to the legate, bidding
him desist from his attack on a city under the
Imperial protection, and followed this up by despatching
a force of German cavalry, who successfully made their
way into the beleaguered city.

While Galeazzo was thus strengthened, the Guelf army
was weakened by an outbreak of pestilence, the almost
invariable result in those days of keeping an army in
the field during the heats of the Lombard summer.
Seeing no hope of reducing Milan, the Papal forces
withdrew, after a siege of six weeks. Monza, as well
as a number of castles in the Contado, still remained
in their power. Galeazzo, now strong enough to take
the field, proceeded to recover these. In February, 1324,
his forces gained a decisive victory at Vaprio, and
before the end of the year Monza was forced to
surrender.

During the next few years little of importance
happened in Central Lombardy. Cane della Scala
was, as we have seen, occupied with his projects for
the conquest of Padua and Treviso. The Esteosi

THE LAST STRUGGLES 439

were extending their power around Ferrara. In 1324
they captured from the Archbishop of Ravenna the
large town of Argenta, which in times past had
formed a constant bone of contention between Ferrara
and Ravenna. Next year Comacchio, buried among
the marshes in the delta of the Po, gave itself to them,
in order to put an end to the party strife within the
walls.1 Meantime Galeazzo was too weak, or too
incapable, to attack the Guelf cities in his neighbour-
hood. The pestilence which had broken out in the
Guelf camp before Milan had been carried by the
soldiers into the cities of both parties ; and its ravages,
which were very great, had no doubt much to do with
this cessation of hostilities. The legate, for his part,
turned his chief attention to the affairs of Emilia and
Romagna.

It was chiefly in the cities south of the Po, from
Piacenza to Bologna, that the old republican spirit
still survived. Bologna had never known the rule of a
tyrant. Its liberties had indeed been menaced by the
ambition of Romeo dei Pepoli, who had made use of
his great wealth — ^he was said to be the richest man in
Italy — in order to gain supreme power. But the men
at the head of the Commune were staunch republicans ;
their prudence had taken the alarm in time, and Romeo
was forced to fly from the city before his plans had
advanced sufficiently for him to try any open stroke
against the government.

The four Emilian cities had all passed for a longer
or shorter period under the power of a despot, but all
had shaken off the yoke. In these Communes which
had recovered their freedom we mark a great increase
of the power of the nobles. No doubt the popular
organisations, the Arti, and the armed companies of
the people had been abolished or restricted in their

' Besides Ferrara, the Estensi now ruled Argenta, Comacchio,
and Adria, in addition to their fiefs of Rovigo, Lendinaria, and the
district of the Polesine between the Po and the Adige, which they
held from the Empire. Este itself and the rest of their lands north
of the Adige belonged to Padua.

440 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

power by the tyrants. The nobles had played a chief
part in recovering liberty, and were thus able to ^
from the start a preponderating position in the restored
Commune. Besides, the importance in warfere of
heavy cavalry was increasing all through the early
fourteenth century, and, as we have seen, the Com-
munes had to depend for this arm on mercenaries
or on their own nobles. Infantry would no longer
face heavy cavalry in the open field. The employ-
ment of mercenary troops had been shown to be
dangerous to the communal liberties. Hence ttie
nobles were indispensable to the Communes, and re-
covered in consequence the position they had lost
during the second half of the thirteenth century.

We have already seen how Verzusio Landi's desertion
of the Ghibelline cause had put an end to the rule of
the Visconti in Piacenza, and how that city, having
recovered its liberty, had placed itself under the
protection of the legate. P^ma had expelled its
despot in 1316, and had been for six years Ghibelline,
under the rule of two of the leading houses, the
Rossi and San Vitale. These quarrelled, and the Rossi,
going back to the Guelf party, to which they had
formerly adhered, expelled the San Vitale and the
Ghibellines, and recalled the sons of Ghiberto da
Correggio from exile. The people in these chan^
seem to have blindly followed the lead of the nobles.

In Reggio the downfall of the Estensi in 1306 had
been followed by the recall of the Guelf Manfredi,
Pogliani, and Robert!, and of the Ghibelline Sessi,
who had all alike been in exile. For the next fev
years Reggio had been Ghibelline, and in alliance
with Ghiberto da Correggio, who at this stage of his
career posed as a Ghibelline. In 13 10, just before
the arrival of Henry VII. in Lombardy, the Sessi
attacked the family of Canossa, a house which, like
them, was Ghibelline. All the other nobles took the part
of the Da Canossa ; the people, too, rose in arms on
the same side ; and the Sessi were driven out after a
fierce struggle in the streets. Restored early in 131 1

THE LAST STRUGGLES 441

by Henry VII., they were attacked by all the other
nobles, seventeen days after their return, and were
thrown into prison. They were released by Henry's
Vicar after a few months, but next year we find
them again at war with the Commune, which was now
under the control of the Guelf Fogliani, Roberti, and
Manfredi. Since that time Reggio had remained Guelf,
and the Sessi had been continuously, the Da Canossa
occasionally, in exile. The chronicler of Reggio inci-
dentally tells us that the hostility between the Sessi
and Fogliani had arisen from a private insult, that it
lasted fifty-four years, and caused the deaths of two
thousand people.'

Modena at this period was considered the most
turbulent of the Lombard cities. Here again the
nobles appear to have controlled the Commune after
the expulsion of the Estensi. Three distinct factions
meet us in this Commune. Besides the Aigoni, violent
Guelfs, and the Grasulfi, Ghibellines, there were the
nobles of Sassuolo and of Savignano and the Grassoni,
which three families formed a party, Guelf indeed,
but with Ghibelline leanings. The quarrels of these
three factions kept the city in constant turmoil, increased
by sudden outbreaks of dissension within the ranks of
the parties, which led to frequent and puzzling changes
of side on the part of individual families.

Henry of Luxemburg's eflForts to restore peace were
not more successful -in Modena than elsewhere. The
Aigoni and Grasulfi did indeed form a league in
1311 ;; but the result was that the da Sassuolo, the
Savignani, and the Grassoni, fearing that the alliance
was directed against them, left the city. Next year the
four leading houses of the Aigoni were detected in an
intrigue to give up the frontier fortresses to Bologna.
Fearing an outburst of popular fury, they fled, and
left the city to the Ghibellines.

The two exiled factions were in possession of the
chief castles of the Contado ; and the Aigoni and the
Bolognese defeated the Ghibellines in the open field.
* Gazata in " Muratori/' vol. zviiL

412 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

These, then, as we have already said, handed Modena
over to Passerino Bonaccolsi, tyrant of Mantua. His
rule was oppressive, and in 1218 the same GhibeUioe
nobles who had called him in raised the city against him
and drove out his garrison.' A distinctly oligarchic
government was set up consisting of four Podestas
chosen one from each of the leading Ghibelline noble
families, and four '' judices," or trained jurists.

Concord did not last long. The moving spirit in the
late revolution, Francesco Pico, lord of La Mirandola,
expelled three of the chief families who had been among
his supporters. They turned again to Passerino, and
with him and Cane della Scala attacked the city, just six
months after it had recovered its liberty. The Modenese
repulsed the attack, but next year two more of the leading
Ghibelline families left the city and rose in revolt
Francesco seems to have become now virtually despot
of Modena, where his family were the only nobles whom
successive revolutions had left within the walls. Pressed
as he was on one side by Bologna and the Aigoni, on the
other by Passerino and the Grasulfi, while the Da Sassuolo
and their friends infested the plain from their strongholds
of Sassuolo and Savignano, Francesco was unable to
maintain himself.^ He determined to make terms with
Passerino ; and in 1319 Modena, after nearly two years
of liberty, or rather anarchy, was handed over once more
to the lord of Mantua. Francesco had, as he thought,
amply provided for his own safety by a treaty which
Passerino had sworn to observe. But in 132 1 he was
seized, with two of his sons, and thrown into a dungeon,
where all three perished of hunger.

This history of faction in Modena helps us to under-
stand the severity of the laws by which Bologna and the

■ Passerino soon exiled most of the Ghibelline nobles, following in
this the policy pursued by his house in Mantua, where the nobles of
all parties had been crushed by Pinamonte BonaccolsL They were
readmitted in 13 17.

* An amnesty had been proclaimed in 13 18, but the Aigoni and
Da Sassuolo had either not ventured to return, or had been expelled
again.

THE LAST STRUGGLES 443

Tuscan Communes strove to curb the power of the
nobles. To be a noble in these cities was not only to
be shut out from any part in the government, but to be
subject to penal laws of the utmost rigour. Yet such was
the vitality of the Italian noble houses, such the power
gained for them by their wealth and skill in arms, that in
scarcely any Commune except Florence were the nobles
permanently kept under by the democracy.

We can see plainly, also, how the constant feuds arising
from the turbulence of the nobles rendered the rule of a
despot acceptable to the mass of the people. The rule
even of a Pinamonte or a Passerino Bonaccolsi meant at
least the cessation of street fighting, and the equality of
all under the yoke of a tyrant was some compensation to
the general body of the burghers for their vanished
liberty.

Whether Modena was under a despot or free, under
the rule of the commons or the nobles, the old feud with
Bologna continued with unabated fury. The forces of
the latter city, united with the exiled Modenese Guelfs,
inflicted such damage to the border districts of Modena
that Passerino in 1325 made a great effort to put a stop
once for all to their ravages. Aided by a large body of
cavalry and infantry from Ferrara under the Marquis
Rinaldo of Este, as well as by auxiliaries from Verona
and Milan, he advanced at the head of the Modenese and
Mantuans against the army of Bologna, which was be-
sieging Monte Veglio, a castle in the Bolognese Contado,
which had lately come into his possession.

Accounts differ widely as to the numbers of the
opposing forces. It seems certain, however, that the
thirty thousand infantry of Bologna — this seems to be
the number that that city habitually sent into the field
— far outnumbered the foot-soldiers of Modena and her
allies. In cavalry, then the most important arm, the two
armies were more equal ; indeed, it would seem that the
auxiliaries from Verona, Ferrara, and Milan gave Pas-
serino the superiority. As almost always, whenever
Modena and Bologna met in a pitched battle, fortune
favoured the former. The Bolognese were routed with

444 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

a loss of over two thousand slain, a number very great
for Italian warfare^ and one thousand five hundred
prisoners and an immense booty fell into the hands of
the victors. The Ghibelline army then advanced to
Bologna, and devastated all the surrounding country.
As a sign of victory three races were run under the walls
of the city, one in honour of Azzo, son of Galeazzo
Visconti, whose cavalry had had an imi>ortant part in
the fight, one in honour of Passerino, and one in honour
of the lord of Este, who had held the supreme command
in the field.

The batde led to peace early in the following year
between Bologna and Modena. Passerino, insecure in
his position both in Modena and Mantua, and perhaps
already on bad terms with Cane della Scala, consented to
terms very favourable to Bologna. Already a storm was
threatening to break on him from another quarter.

The Papal legate, secure in the possession of Piacenza,
Parma, and Reggio, determined to attempt the conquest
of Modena. In his army were the Aigoni, the da Sas-
suolo and their two allied families, and the Ghibelline
Pichi della Mirandola. Under Verzusio Landi, the Guelfs
soon overran the Contado of Modena. Only the city and
two castles remained in the power of Pia^erino. The
Visconti and Estensi tried to bring help to the Modenese,
but failed. Passerino was routed, and part of the Mantuan
territory invaded. The result was that the Ghibelline
nobles in Modena, seeing no help coming from outside,
rose against Passerino's garrison, and in June, 1327,
forced them to quit the city. Then sending to the
legate they soon arranged terms of peace. Modena
was to remain in the hands of the Ghibellines. The
exiled " Plebeians " were to be readmitted, thirty only
excepted. To the nobles their lands were restored, but
they were not to come nearer than two miles to the city.
The chronicler thinks it worthy of remark that this peace
lasted two years and five months.

Louis of Bavaria had been excommunicated by the
Pope and declared incapable of the Imperial crown
immediately after the help given by him to Galeazzo

THE LAST STRUGGLES 446

Visconti. The victory of MGhldorf had left him supreme
in Germany, and the Ghibelline lords of Italy had since
been urging him to come into the peninsula to defend
them against King Robert and the Guelfs, and to be
crowned at Milan and in Rome* In February, 1327,
he reached Trent, where he conferred with the Ghibelline
chiefs of Lombardy and Tuscany or their ambassadors.
He reached Milan in May, and on the last day of the
month received the Iron Crown from the hands of three
excommunicated Bishops in the presence of a great
assembly of Ghibellines. Not two months afterwards,
to the astonishment of every one, he seized Galeazzo,
with his brothers Lucchino and Giovanni, and his son
Azzo, forced them by threats of death to surrender their
fortresses into his hands, and imprisoned them in the
dungeons Galeazzo himself had constructed in the castle
of Monza^ Then he set up a republican form of govern-
ment in Milan, under twenty-four nobles, who were,
however, controlled by a German Governor. The cause
of this extraordinary procedure seems to have been the
accusations brought against Galeazzo by his brother
Marco and his cousin Lodrisio. Both were jealous of
Galeazzo, and declared — it would seem with some founda-
tion— that he was secretly negotiating with the Pope in
order to betray the Ghibellines. The other Ghibelline
despots, and notably Cane della Scala, would appear to
have joined in the accusation. In fact Cane seems to
have had hopes of obtaining possession of Milan.

The other towns which had been subject to Milan
recovered their independence, under the rule of the
leading Ghibelline families. The Beccheria of Pavia
and the Tornielli of Novara received the title of Imperial
Vicar, as did also the Rusconi, who had ruled Como since
131 1. Then Louis, having received large sums of
money from the Milanese and the Ghibelline lords,
departed for Rome, where he was crowned Emperor
in January, 1328.

This same year, 1328, saw the downfall of two of the
tyrant houses of Lombardy. The Vistarini of Lodi, who
had expelled Antonio Fisiraga and the family of Som-

446 THE LOMBABD COMMUNES

mariva in 13 ii, had since that date ruled the city with
the utmost cruelty. Those who excited their jealousy
were cast into the dungeons of their palace and left to die
of hunger. The cries of the victims, which pierced to
the banqueting hall of the tyrants, only excited thdr
laughter.

Among the chief ministers of their cruelties was a man
named Tremacoldo, originally a miller, whose wickedness
had recommended him to their confidence. He had
been promoted to be captain of the guard and entrusted
with the keys of one of the gates. But the tyrants had
set no limits to their vices, and one of them had violated
Tremacoldo's niece. Unable to obtain justice he deter-
mined on revenge. One night he introduced a lar^
body of armed partisans into the city, and with cries of
"Viva il Popolo 1 " hastened towards the palace of the
Vistarini. They were quite unprepared for attack, and
six of them fell into his hands without resistance.
He then cast them into their own dungeons and left
them there to die of hunger like so many of their
victims.

Equally sudden was the overthrow of the Bonaccolsi,
who for more than half a century had ruled Mantua.
Passerino, the then head of the family, had made himself
odious by bis tyranny. His sons surpassed him in vice ;
neither the honour nor the property oi the citizens was
safe from their attacks. An insult offered to the wife of
one of the Gonzaga, an ancient noble family deep in the
confidence of the tyrant, led to a conspiracy against him.
Cane della Scala had for some time past been jealous of
Passerino's power, or perhaps disgusted by his cruelties.
He promised his help to the Gonzaga, and sent a force of
eleven hundred men, who, along with a large body of
peasants from the Gonzaga estates, entered the city by
night through a gate which one of the conspirators had
caused to be opened. Passerino endeavoured to summon
his friends to arms, but was killed, together with one of
his sons. Some other members of the Bonaccolsi family
were handed over to Niccolo Pico della Mirandola, who
starved them to death in the same castle in which his

Mantua.
Palace of the Bonaccolsi.

fact page 446.

THE LAST STRUGGLES 447

father, Francesco Pico, had sufiFered the like fate by
Passerino's orders. Luigi Gonzaga was then elected
Signore of Mantua, and made Imperial Vicar by Louis.
His descendants received from the Emperor the title of
Marquis, and, and at a later period, that of Duke of
Mantua, which city they ruled until the early eighteenth
century.

Louis of Bavaria during his career in Germany had
shown himself honourable and prudent. In Italy, how-
ever, his conduct was such as soon to alienate a large
number of his supporters. He showed himself greedy of
money, ready to sacrifice the interests of the future to a
momentary advantage, and, above all, perfidious and
ungrateful to his partisans. Contrary to his plighted
word, he handed Pisa over to Castruccio Castracane, the
celebrated despot of Lucca. He quarrelled with Bishop
Guido Tarlati, the valorous Ghibelline lord of Arezzo.
The first of the despots of the Papal states to declare in
his favour was Silvestro dei Gatti of Viterbo. In return
he was deprived of the lordship of the city, and tortured
until he revealed to the Emperor the hiding-place of his
treasure. But it was his treatment of the Visconti which
Louis found hardest to justify in the eyes of his sup-
porters.

At length, yielding to the prayers trf Castruccio Castra-
cani and other Ghibelline leaders, he ordered the release
of Galeazzo and his fellow prisoners, and summoned
them to join him in Tuscany. There Galeazzo took part
in the siege of Pistoia ; but, weakened by his captivity,
he was unable to bear the rigours of the campaign, and
died a few months after his release, in August, 1328. Of
all the Visconti he seems to have had the least capacity,
and was certainly the most unfortunate.

Louis, after his coronation in Rome, found himself
unable to effect anything of importance against King
Robert or the Florentines. He decided, therefore, to
return to Lombardy. His chief difficulty was want of
money. Azzo, son of Galeazzo Visconti, who, with his
uncles Marco and Giovanni, was with the Emperor in
Pisa, offered him 60,000 or, as some say, 125,000 florins,

448 THE LOMBARD OOMMUNE8

if he would name him Vicar in Milan. The bargain was
concluded in January, 1329, and Azzo at once returned to
Milan. Here he was received without any oppositioa by
the citizens ; and thus the metropolis of Lombardy caine
once more under the sway of the Visconti. The spirit of
liberty was dead in Milan, which henceforward was ruled
by the Visconti until the death of the last male descendant
of il tnagno Matteo.

With the idea of strengthening himself in his contest
against the Guelfs, Louis had proclaimed the deposition
of Pope John, and had set up an Antipope of his own
choosing. This measure, commonly employed two cen-
turies before in the struggles between the Empire and
Papacy, was useless in the fourteenth century. The time
had long gone by when tiie theory that an Emperor
could depose a Pope found a strong body of supporters
in Italy. Louis's action met with but little approval from
the Ghibellines — in fact, it alienated from him many of
his partisans.

The most important defection from his side was that
of the Marquises of Este. They had always professed
their willingness to submit to the Pope if only he would
recognise their rule in Ferrara. An embassy which they
sent to Avignon in 1328 brought about a reconciliation.
In return for the admission that they ruled Ferrara as
Vicars of the Church, and the payment of an annual
tribute of 10,000 florins, they were freed from all eccle-
siastical censures. The final details of the treaty were
not settled until 1332. Henceforward the House of Este
ruled over Ferrara and the smaller cities of Comacchio
and Adria with unquestioned authority.

The example of the Estensi was followed by Azzo
Visconti. He was disgusted by Louis's treatment of hb
family, as well as anxious for a reconciliation with the
Church. As soon, therefore, as he found himself secure
in the lordship of Milan, he opened secret negotiations
with the Pope. These did not bear full fruit until the
next year; but when, in April, 1329, Louis of Bavaria
again arrived in Lombardy, he found his authority
openly defied by Azzo. In vain the Emperor endea-

THE LAST STBTTGfOLES 440

voured to force him to submit. He advanced with his
army to the gates of Milan, but a siege was impossible
with the forces at his disposal. Azzo, however, had no
desire to push matters to extremities. On payment of a
large sum he was received again into the Emperor's
friendship ; and Louis withdrew first to Pavia, then to
the district south of the Po.

Here another sudden change of front had brought
Parma and Reggio again over to the Ghibellines. In
every city which had come under a despot we find the
old party lines more or less blotted out The tyrant
changed sides as best suited his own interests, the
partisans of liberty became Guelf or Ghibelline in
opposition to whatever side the tyrant favoured.

When Ghiberto da Correggio first got himself elected
Signore of Parma, he, though of a Guelf family, had
allied himself with the Ghibellines. His chief adversaries
had been the Rossi, a noble family — one of those which
had first started a Guelf party in Parma, and had brought
about the revolt of the city from Frederick II. in 1247.
When Ghiberto had revolted from Henry VII. the Rossi
joined the Visconti and other Ghibellines. Together
with the San Vitale they expelled Ghiberto in 1316.
Then Parma was, as we have said, Ghibelline for six
years, until, in order to get complete control of the city,
the Rossi drove out the San Vitale, and went over to the
Guelfs. Finding their authority hampered by that of the
legate, who placed a Papal garrison in Parma, they
changed sides once again. In August, 1328, they stirred
up a tumult, and expelled the Papal Governor and his
garrison.

Next day they marched on Reggio. The Papal
Governor of that city — Reggio, like Parma and Pia-
cenza, had given itself to the Church until the election
of a lawful Emperor — ^had hanged a thief who was a
dependent of the family of the Fogliani. In revenge
they and the Manfred! assassinated the Governor in his
private oratory, and then retired to their country castles.
This ^iiras a few months before the revolution in Parma.
Now the Fogliani and Manfred! joined the Rossi, and

450 THE LOMBARD COMMXTNES

seized Reggio without meeting any opposition. The
third of the great Guelf families — the Roberti— vas
imprisoned, and Reggio too became Ghibelline.

On the approach of the Emperor the Modenese Ghibd-
lines began to rejoice. One said to the other, ''How
happy are we to live at the present time 1 This is the day
which our fathers waited for in vain. The men of Parma
and Reggio, always hostile to the Emperor, now rally to
his rule ; much more ought we to call him in, we who
have at all times been faithful to him ; let us see him for
an instant and then die. Our fathers move in their
tombs, their hearts beat once more." One said, ''I have
two sons : I would give one of them if I might see the
Germans ;" another, still more carried away by his feel-
ings, exclaimed, ** Only to touch the garments of one of
them, I would allow all that I have to be given over to
headlong ruin." Many went out to meet the Germans,
crying out, '' Here is the day we have long wished for ;
here is the day our fathers long desired to see."

With such words does the chronicler of Modena bring
before us the intensity of the devotion which the EmpercH-
was still capable of inspiring in Italy. Louis placed
German garrisons in the three Emilian cities. In
Modena their outrageous conduct soon showed the
people how mistaken had been their enthusiasm. Tlus
was his last act in Italy. In December, 1329, he went
to Trent to arrange for fresh supplies of men and money
from Germany. But the news he received from that
country caused him to pursue his journey north of the
Alps. He quitted Italy for ever, leaving behind him
a name odious alike to both the factions of the
peninsula.

We have now come to the last scene of our story.
Liberty was extinct over most of Lombardy. The
brothers Mastino and Alberto ruled over the four cities
of the Mark and the lesser towns of Feltre and Belluno.
Ferrara under the Estensi, Mantua under the Gonzaga,
had definitely lost their freedom. Bologna, while retain-
ing its republican institutions, had given itself in 1327 to
the legate, Cardinal de PoiSt. Bologna had always been

THE LAST STRtJGOLES 451

admittedly a part of the dominions of the Church ; but
for centuries the Popes had had no authority over the
Commune. From Bologna the legate extended his
sway over the greater part of Romagna, the despots
who had seized on the cities being expelled or forced
to acknowledge his overlordship.

Modena, Reggio, and Parma were still nominally re-
publican, and had formed a league against the legate.
Piacenza was in much the same condition as Bologna.
Tortona, Alessandria, and the smaller towns of Piedmont
were more or less subject to King Robert of Naples. In
Asti the Guelf nobles, the Solarii and their partisans,
were supreme.

Almost all Central Lombardy was Ghibelline. Azzo
Visconti, without abandoning that party, had been recon-
ciled with the Pope in 1330. He resigned the title of
Imperial Vicar, and to make up for this got himself
elected in the same year lord of Milan for his life. Of
the other cities some, under the rule of a leading family,
such as the Tornielli in Novara and the Beccheria in
Pavia, preserved some vestiges of freedom. Others were
under despots. Tremacoldo ruled Lodi, Ravizza Rusca
Como.

North of the Po Brescia alone was still free and still
Guelf, under the protection of Robert of Naples. The
Ghibelline faction, expelled in 1315, had maintained
themselves in the Contado by the help of the neigh-
bouring lords, Scaligers, Bonaccolsi, and Visconti. In
1330 they induced the lords of Verona and Milan to
make a determined effort to restore them to their homes.
The Brescian Guelfs, ringed round by hostile cities, saw
no hope of effectual aid from King Robert, and but
little prospect of resisting the forces brought against
them. In their extremity they heard that King John
of Bohemia was in Tyrol engaged in negotiations with
the Duke of Carinthia, and sent to offer him the lordship
of their city for life in return for his help.

John was the eldest son of the Emperor Henry of
Luxemburg. He had married one of the daughters of
the last native King of Bohemia, and he had obtained

462 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

the kingdom from his father as a vacant fief oi the
Empire, as well as by the choice of the Bohemians
themselves. He was of a brave and generous nature,
eager alx>ve all things to shine in tournaments and win
glory as a knight He preferred the brilliant courts of
the West to his new kingdom, the administration of
which he entrusted to his friend the Count of LippCp
while he himself wandered through the world in search
of adventures.

King John accepted the offer of the Brescians; and
entering their city with a force of cavalry on the last
day of the year 1330, he was proclaimed lord of Brescia
amidst general rejoicings. A sudden wave of enthusiasm
passed all over Lombardy at this news. The courteous
manners of King John, his noble bearing, his impartiality
were everywhere extrolled. As before in the days of
his father Henry, so now city after city looked to a
German prince to free them from faction. Not a fort-
night after his arrival in Brescia Bergamo, torn by
party conflicts, proclaimed him Signore. Cremona and
Crema at once followed this example. In February
Pavia, Novara, and Vercelli, without any solicitation on
his part, put themselves under his rule. The lords of
Como and of Milan itself felt forced to go with the
tide, and took the title of his Vicars. In March he
went to Parma, on the invitation of the citizens ; from
there he went to Reggio and Modena, and received the
lordship of all three cities. Even distant Lucca, hard
pressed by the Florentines, sought and found safety
under his sway.

Thus, in a few months, King John had built up an
extensive dominion. The Marquis of Montferrat and
the Count of Savoy were his allies ; ambassadors came
to seek his friendship from the lords of Mantua and
Verona. His rapid success recalled the early career of
his father in Italy ; like him he was to experience how
unstable were the Italians.

The Pope had professed indignation at John's inter-
ference in the affairs of the peninsula, and had sent
letters to protest against it. But it soon became known

THE LAST STRUGGLES 453

that the King had had a private interview with the
Cardinal de Poi6t on the confines of Modena and
Bologna, and that they had parted on friendly terms.
It was rumoured that Pope and King were secretly in
league. John Was to build up a dominion in Lombardy,
which was to put an end to the despots, form a barrier
against Louis of Bavaria and be a counterpoise to
the power of Robert of Naples, from whom the Pope
was anxious to shake himself free. The Papal legate
was, on the other hand, to bring all the cities in the
states of the Church directly under the obedience of
the Holy See. The despots were to be deposed and
the Guelf and Ghibelline parties put down everywhere.
Guelfs and Ghibellines had united to welcome King
John. Now the Italians saw with amazement Ghibelline
lords, Guelf Communes, and the King of Naples all
allied against him. The great Lombard lords — Visconti,
Delia Scala, Gonzaga, and Este — ^were the first to op-
pose him. They feared that he was building up a
power in Lombardy which would bring about their
ruin. Accordingly they entered into a league to bring
about his downfall. The Florentines, angered at the
loss of Lucca, and seeing in John above all the son of
their old enemy Henry of Luxemburg, soon adhered
to the League, and drew in King Robert, who saw his
position in North Italy threatened. John's conduct made
matters easy for the confederates. His proceedings had
irritated many who had at first welcomed him. Brought
up in the midst of German feudalism, he was unable
to understand the spirit of the burghers of the Italian
Communes. He conferred castles and lands belonging
to the cities on the nobles who were his partisans or
even on his German followers. He increased the power
of the nobles within the walls, he exempted some of
those outside from the jurisdiction of the Communes.
Even the impartiality with which he strove to restore
the exiles everywhere, though it pleased the more
moderate, excited the resentment of the more factious.
While opposition was thus springing up everywhere
against him, John was recalled to Bohemia by an

454 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

attack made on that kingdom by Louis of Bavaria
and all the neighbouring princes. He soon made peace
with these, and then, instead of returning to Italy, went
to Avignon to confer with the Pope.

His absence left free scope to his enemies. They
drew up a regular treaty of partition to decide the fate
of the cities which had given themselves to King John.
By this arrangement Cremona and Bergamo were to
fall to Azzo Visconti, Brescia and Parma to Mastino
della Scala, Reggio to the lord of Mantua, Modena to the
House of Este.

If John had remained in Italy, backed as he was by
those Communes which feared to fall under the yoke
of the despot of a neighbouring city, he might very
probably have held his own against the confederates.
His absence, however, allowed them ample time to
organise their attack. His first loss was that of Brescia,
the city which had been the first to call him in.

King John had recalled the exiled Ghibellines to
Brescia, contrary to the terms on which the lordship
of the city had been offered to him. He had also freed
certain districts of the Contado from the authority of
the Commune. These actions so angered the Brescian
Guelfs that they opened negotiations with the Ghibelline
Mastino della Scala, offering him the lordship of the
city if he would give them vengeance on the GhibeUines.
He accepted their offer ; and Italy saw with amazement
a double infamy. The Brescian Guelfs sacrificed the
liberty of their country in order to obtain a triumph
over the adverse faction. The lord of Verona handed
his own partisans over to the vengeance of their enemies
in order to add one more to the list of his subject
cities.

The gates of Brescia were opened to Mastino's troops
in June, 1332, and a few weeks later King John's
garrison surrendered the castle also. In accordance
with his compact Mastino allowed the Guelfs to murder
and plunder the Ghibellines for three days without any
check. Public opinion was universally aroused against
Mastino for his conduct, and his brother Alberto left

THE LAST STRUGGLES 465

the city in indignation. This ineffectual protest is almost
the only action that history records to the credit of
Alberto, who usually devoted himself to pleasure, leaving
all affairs to his brother. Thus ignominiously ended
the long and glorious career of the Commune of
Brescia.

The turn of Bergamo came in the following September.
The factions were again at one another's throats when
Azzo Visconti invested the city. It came into his hands,
but whether by force of arms or by a treaty is uncertain.
Thus one more was blotted out from the list of the
Lombard Communes.

In the November of the same year the Beccheria
stirred up a revolt in Pavia against King John's authority.
Azzo hastened to the city and took possession of it,
shutting up the royal garrison in the fortress which
Matteo had constructed. The Beccheria once again
controlled Pavia, recognising, however, Azzo's over-
lordship.

Azzo's power was still more increased by the acquisi-
tion of Novara and Vercelli. The latter city was handed
over to him in 1334 by the dominant Ghibelline party.
In Novara the Bishop, Azzo's uncle, Giovanni, overthrew
by an ingenious stratagem the rule of the Tornielli, who
had given the city to King John, and opened the gates to
his nephew's troops.

Elsewhere the leagued despots were not so successful.
Cremona, Modena, Reggio, and Parma, in close alliance
with one another, made a valiant fight for liberty under
King John's son Charles, whom he had left in Italy
as his lieutenant. They were also leagued with the
Papal legate, who had under him Piacenza, Bologna,
and all Romagna. An attack on Modena made by the
Estensi and Gonzaga, with help from Verona and Milan,
failed. Nearly all the Modenese nobles were again in
exile ; but the people were enthusiastic in defence of
their liberty, and gave loyal support to Manfredi dei Pii,
who ruled the city for the King.

In November, 1332, the whole force of Modena,
strengthened by reinforcements of horse from the legate,

466 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

and from Reggio and Parma, sallied out to attache the
confederate lords who were besieging the castle of San
Felice. After a long conflict the bravery of the Modenese
infantry, who faced and overthrew the hostile cavalry,
decided the victory. An immense booty, with many
prisoners of importance, fell into their hands ; and, as
a consequence of the battle, the territory of Ferrara ^iras
given up to pillage.

When King John, in the early spring of the following
year, returned to Italy, furnisJied with money and a
large force of French cavalry, he was able to take the
offensive. He failed, however, to raise the siege of
the castle of Pavia, which surrendered in June to the
Visconti, or to recapture Bergamo ; and, though he laid
waste a great part of the territory of Milan, he was
unable to provoke Azzo to a pitched battle. In the
meantime a great disaster had fallen on his ally the
legate.

The latter, following up the victory of the Modenese,
had laid siege to Ferrara. For nine weeks the city was
hard pressed ; but at last the allied lords succeeded in
introducing a large relieving force within the walls.
Then suddenly sallying out, they surprised the camp
of the legate, who was quite unprepared for any attack.
The besieging army was utterly routed ; thousands were
slain or drowned in the Po; most of the great lords
of Romagna who were serving under the banner of the
Church were captured.

The legate refused to advance the money required
for the ransom of these prisoners, with the result that
the Marquises of Este induced them to secede from
his party. The Romagnol lords — Malatesta of Rimini,
Da Polenta of Ravenna, Ordellaffi of Forli, to name
the most important — were thereupon freed without
ransom, together with their vassals and friends. One
and all they set to work to recover the cities of which
they had formerly been despots. In three months almost
the whole of Romagna was in revolt against the Cardinal,
and the cities had returned to the rule of their former
lords.

THE LAST STRUGGLES 457

This overthrow of the legate put an end to Lombard
freedom. King John made a truce with his enemies.
He had wearied of his Italian enterprise, and sought
now only to raise as much money as possible by the
sale of the cities still under his lord^ip. He sold Parma
and Lucca to the Rossi, Reggio to the Fogliani, Modena
to the Pii, Cremona to Ponzino Ponzoni ; and in
October, i333y ^^ quitted Italy, to resume elsewhere
the quest for glory which led him when old and blind
to meet his death in the m^Ue at Cr6cy.

His departure left the confederate lords free to con-
tinue their project for the partition of Lombardy. The
four cities which had continued faithful to John were,
however, resolved not to resign their freedom without
a struggle. For a time they held their own. The people
of Reggio gained a considerable victory in the open
country. The Rossi of Parma corrupted the German
mercenaries serving with the confederates, and arranged
that they were to seize the despots and hand them over
to their adversaries. The plot was discovered, with,
however, the result that the army which had invaded
the territory of Parma broke up in confusion, and that a
large body of Germans went over to the Rossi.

These advantages were more than counterbalanced by
the revolt of Bologna from the legate. The intrigues
of the Estensi with some of the leading noble families
in Bologna seem to have brought about this revolt.
It is noticeable that, in spite of the severity of the laws
meant to curb their power, the Bolognese nobles had
by now recovered a great deal of their former political
importance.

While the legate had sent most of his mercenaries
out of the city to resist an incursion from the side of
Ferrara, the leaders of the plot called the people to arms
with cries of " Long live the People I Death to the
Legate 1 " All the French soldiers found in the streets
were massacred. The legate and his ofiicials shut
themselves up in the strong fortress which he had
induced the people to build for him under the pretext
that the Pope intended to take up his residence in

458 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

Bologna if a fitting dwelling were provided for him.
The Marquises of Este at once sent a force to support
the rising and to aid in besieging the castle. This defied
all their efforts until the Florentines, moved by respect
for the legate, sent an embassy which secured for him
a free departure with all his followers and treasures^ and
for the Bolognese the surrender of the castle. Bologna
now joined the league of the Lombard despots. The
revolt from the Church brought little good to the city.
In two months' time the factions of the Scacchesi and
the Maltraversi were fighting in the streets ; fifteen hundred
of the latter were banished, and the road was prepared
for a tyrant.

In April of the same year, 1334, Azzo Visconti attacked
Cremona with thirty thousand men.> The city was now
under the rule of Ponzino Ponzoni. Constant dissen-
sions had so weakened the old rival of Milan that the
chronicler of Reggio tells us that in 1323 there were
scarcely twelve hundred men able to bear arms in the
city, whereas a few years before there had been ten
thousand.* Some years of peace had partially repaired
these losses; but Ponzoni saw no hope of resisting
Azzo's forces. He offered to surrender if not relieved
by King John before a certain day. King John had
definitely turned his back on Italian affairs; no help
came. July, 1334, saw the end of the independence
of Cremona.

Next year it was the turn of Parma and Reggio. The
Rossi, w^ho ruled the former city and Lucca, saw that
it was useless to contend with the forces against them.
Accordingly they made a treaty with Mastino della Scala,
yielding up the two cities to him, and retaining in full
sovereignty Pontremoli and many castles. In June,

* From 1338 to 1330 Cremona had been free under an Imperial
Vicar. Then Marsilio Rossi of Parma was Signore for a year.
Then followed the rule of King John of Bc^emia, who s(dd it to
Ponzino PonaonL

* He also tells ns that he had seen so many edles from Cremona
in Reggio that they could find no room in the houses^ but had to
live under the colonnades, where they were kindly tended by the
people of Reggio.

jr-

THE LAST STRUGGLES 459

1335, the General Council of Parma was called together
ad elected Mastino as their lord. In December of the
'*me year he took possession of Lucca.

The Fogliani had expelled or imprisoned their former

'.ies, the Manfredi, in 1333, and had thereupon been
elected lords of Reggio. Now, after the surrender of
Parma, Alberto della Scala invaded the Reggian territory,

eking and burning everywhere.

'^he Fogliani saw that further resistance was impossible,
* . in return for a sum of money and the recognition
their independent rule over certain castles, they
sunendered the city. According to the treaty Reggio
was handed over to the Gonzaga, but Mastino forced
them to acknowledge that they held it from him as
a fief.

In the meantime Azzo Visconti was extending his
rule. The Rusconi of Como, hard pressed by the Guelf
exiles, and hated by the people, saw themselves forced
to hand over that city to Azzo, retaining for themselves
the lordship of Bellinzona and the lands round the
northern end of Lago Maggiore. Then Azzo turned
against Tremacoldo, the tyrant* of Lodi. The citizens
welcomed him as a liberator. Lodi was joined to the
dominions of the Visconti, and Tremacoldo ended his
days in Milan. We can form some estimate of what
his government had been by the fact that Azzo now
restored no less than three thousand exiles to this small
city. In October of the same year Crema capitulated to
the Visconti.

There still remained Modena and Piacenza. The
former city was determined to resist. But one by one
the castles of the Contado were taken by the Estensi.
Nearly all the nobles had been exiled, and were in the
ranks of the assailants. The city itself was closely
blockaded. The Pii therefore resolved to treat for a sur-
render. In May, 1336, Modena opened its gates to the
Marquises of Este. The exiles of all parties were restored,
and the distracted city at last found internal peace.'

* Eleven noble families, of all factions, came back from exile
to Modena. To Reggio came back Ugolino dei Sessi and his five

4m THE LOMBARD OOMMUNES

The Pii retained, in accordance with the terms of
surrender, their town and lands of Carpi as an indepen-
dent lordshipi and ruled there for some centuries with
considerable splendour. In like manner the Pichi were
recognised as sovereigns over their town of La Miran-
dola and its district. In this way some of the feudal
lords who had been forced to submit to the Communes,
now that the Communes were no more, recovered their
liberty.

Francesco, son of Alberto Scotto, had in July, i335»
expelled the Fontanaand other leading Guelfs, and made
himself master of Piacenza. He had been helped in this
by Azzo Visconti, who asserted that Francesco had pro-
mised to acknowledge him as lord. Francesco refused,
and Azzo set to work to reduce Piacenza by force of
arms. Personal interests had so far superseded the old
party divisions that the exiled Guelfs joined Azzo's army.
Piacenza fought bravely to preserve her independence.
For eight months the city held out Then, seeing all
hope gone, Francesco surrendered. He kept for himself
the castle of Firenzuola ; Piacenza itself in December,
1336, accepted Azzo as lord.

In each city that the confederate Lombard despots had
thus acquired they built a castle to keep down any
attempt at revolt To each city, too, they recalled the
exiles. No longer basing their power on die prevalence
of a faction, they ruled impartially over Guelf and Ghibel-
line. Liberty was gone ; but in its stead the cities
received the gift of internal peace and of an orderly
government to which they had long been strangers.*

sons, who had been in exile time out of mind. The Sesst had been
in almost continual exile for seventy years, but still remained rich
and powerful

' Many small lordships originated in this way during the fourteenth
century. Thus, besides Mirandola and Carpi, Correggio, Guastalla,
and Novellara, were all capitals of small independent states. The
upper Val di Taro was ruled by the Landi as an Imperial fief : the
Pelavicini held Busseto and the adjoining district

* Azzo Visconti, by all accounts, was a pious, just, and clement
prince, a lover of peace, making no distinction between Guelf and
Ghibelline.

THE LAST STRUGGLES 461

Of all the Communes which had united to resist Bar-
barossa, only Bologna and the cities of Piedmont still
retained) their freedom. But their hour, too, had come.
In 1337 *^® mercenary soldiers in Bologna, corrupted by
the gold of Taddeo dei Pepoli, rushed to the Piazza and
proclaimed him Signore. Some attempt was made at
resistance ; the partisans of the Pepoli were, however,
too powerful, and Bologna for the first time sank beneath
a tyrant.

The cities of Piedmont, apart from the general current
of Lombard affairs, had so far preserved their liberties,
under the protection of King Robert of Naples. Now
they were to share the common lot. Already, in 1316,
Casale, which had more than once acknowledged that it
formed part of the dominions of the Marquises of Mont-
ferrat, but which nevertheless had constantly striven for
independence, definitely resigned its liberty to the Mar-
quis Theodore, and became the capital of his states. In
1344 Ivrea, and three years later Valenza, a small town
on the borders of Montferrat and Pavia, which had for a
time managed to establish a Commune, gave themselves
to the Marquis Giovanni. Both places adopted this
expedient as the only means of securing internal peace.
The historian of Montferrat gives a curious list of the
nobles and commons who swore fidelity to the Marquis
in the name of the Guelf and Ghibelline parties.

Asti had long been Guelf, under King Robert's protec-
tion. The leading Guelf family, the Solarii, so abused
their power that their chief partisans deserted them, and
plotted with the Ghibelline exiles to hand the city over to
Montferrat. Accordingly King Robert's garrison and the
Solarii were expelled, and the Marquis Giovanni added
Asti to his dominions in 1339. The Solarii were so
powerful in the Contado, where they held twenty-four
castles, that the Marquis found he could not keep the
city. Accordingly, a year or two after, he sold it to
Lucchino Visconti, Azzo's uncle and successor.

About the same time as Asti, her old rival Alessandria
sought internal peace under the rule of the lord of Milan.

The death of King Robert in 1343 was the final ruin

462 THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

of the Guelf cause in Piedmont Chieri and Alba,
together with the small towns and districts which had for
nearly a century been subject to the House of Anjon,
came into the hands of the Counts of Savoy. Toftona
and Bobbio, both of which had so far maintained them-
selves by Robert's help, fell to Lucchino Visconti.*

The story of the Lombard Communes shapes itself at
first round the rivalry between Milan and Pavia. It is
perhaps fitting that we should end that story with the
tale of the last despairing struggle of the capital of ttie
Lombard kings against her Roman rival, although in
point of time this final conflict lies outside the limits of
this work. We have seen how, in the general absorption
of the Lombard cities by the four families Visconti, Ddb
Scala, Gonzaga, and Estensi, Pavia had preserved a cod-
siderable measure of independence. The Visconti had,
indeed, the overlordship of the city ; but the actual rule
was in the hands of the family of Beccheria, whom, as
we have seen, had long been the heads of the Ghibelline
and popular party. Under their rule Pavia enjoyed
peace, and recovered a great part of its former prosperity.

In 1356, at a time when the lesser despots of Lombardy
and the Marquis of Montferrat had all leagued to put a
stop to the ever-increasing power of the Visconti, the
Beccheria broke off from their old allies and joined the
confederacy against Milan. At once an army of forty-
thousand men was sent to reduce Pavia, and blockaded
it so as to cut off all supplies. Within the walls was
a young Augustinian monk, Jacapo dei Bussolan by
name, a man of great eloquence and inspired with an
enthusiastic love for freedom. His preaching had already
gained for him great influence, not only with the people,
but with the heads of the Beccheria family. Now he
turned his eloquence to encourage the Pavesans in their
struggle against the Visconti, and so emboldened them
that the burghers sallied out and utterly routed the
besiegers, capturing their fleet on the Ticino and their
fortified camp with all its stores.

' Alba and most of the rest were taken almost immediately from
Savoy by the Visconti.

O O

THE LAST STRUGGLES 463

Fra Jacopo's influence in the city now became un-
bounded. Not only did he endeavour to bring about a
reformation of manners, but he began to preach against
the rule of all despots, foreign or native, and to incite the
people to restore a popular form of government. The
Beccheria took alarm at this, and plotted against his life.
This was discovered, and the people furnished him with
a guard for his person and began to reform the govern-
ment, depriving the Beccheria of their power and
restoring the Commyne. The chief among the Beccheria
were discovered in a plot against the new state of affairs,
and left the city with their supporters.'

In the meantime the Visconti, at first unsuccessful
against the leagued Lombard despots, had held their own.
The army of the League had been badly beaten in the
field, and a want of unity in their plans had still farther
weakened the confederates. Peace was made in 1358,
leaving things much as they were before the war, but
apparently containing no provision to secure Pavia
against attack. The exiled Beccheria had, as a matter of
course, gone over to the Visconti, and put them in
possession of their castles. A pretext was soon found for
hostility against the city, and in March, 1359, a Milanese
army once more appeared before it.

To gain his aid the Marquis of Montferrat had been
elected Signore — ^it is not clear whether before or after the
expulsion of the Beccheria. At any rate, he was in full
agreement with Fr^ Jacopo, recognised the institutions
he had caused the people to set up, contenting himself
with the name of lord and the military command and
was zealous in the defence of the city.

Fr^ Jacopo's exhortations moved the burghers to sacri-
fices of every kind. The men gave up their plate, the
women their jewels and costly stuffs, to provide pay for
the army which the Marquis was sending to their assist-
ance. The men capable of bearing arms manned the
walls ; the rest of the population, clad in sober garments,
endeavoured by prayer and austerities to gain the favour
of Heaven. Montferraf s troops succeeded in relieving
* Their palaces were destroyed to the very foundations.

4M THE LOMBARD COMMUNES

the dtji but in September a fresh army was before the
walls. The greater part of the Contado had been over-
run by the Milanese or had gone over to the Beccheria.
The city was soon closely invested. Famine and pesti-
lence broke out ; the mercenaries raised by Montferrat
were corrupted by o£Fers of larger pay, and deserted to
the Visconti. The Marquis was unable to pierce the
besieging cordon or to attempt a diversion by attacking
the Milanese territory. Still Pavia held out The old
days seemed to have returned when the footmen of
Lombardy faced the German chivalry at Legnano, and
the citizens of Crema and Brescia preferred death on the
walls to surrender.

At last plague and famine did their work. Frit Jacopo
saw that farther resistance was useless. He therefore
o£Fered to surrender on conditions. He stipulated for
the internal liberties of Pavia, and for a general amnesty,
the only person for whom he made no conditions being
himself. The Visconti promised everything, and broke
their promises as soon as they were in possession of the
city. Fri Jacopo ended his days in confinement in a
monastery at Vercelli; Pavia passed under the direct rule
of the Visconti. Liberty had vanished from the valley ot
the Po.

INDEX

Achaia, Princes of, 397

Acqui, position of, 26; joins Bar-
barossa, 150 ; aides with Otho, 218 ;
'William of Montferrat, signore of,
368

Adalbert, son of Berengar of Ivrea,
51

Adda, River, 22, 323, 324, 325

Adelardi, see Marcheselia

Adelheid, widow of Lothair, 51 ; flies
to Canossa, 51 ; marries Otho L,
51

Adige, River, 22

Adria, under Marquises of Este, 448

Emilia, see Emilia

Aigoni, name of Guelf party in
Modena, 306; expelled, 206; re-
admitted, 307, 441 ; form league
with Grassulfi, 441 ; detected in a
plot and expelled, 441

Alaric, invasion of, 33

Alba, position of, 26; joins Bar-
barossa, 150 ; at war with Genoa,
337 ; places itself under Charles of
Anjou, 337 ; seized by Ghil)ellines,
362 ; under King Charles of Naples,
387 ; under House of Anjou, 397 ;
comes under Counts of Savoy, 462

Albenga, Towers of, 79, 192 ; revolts
frotn Genoa, 291, 292 ; makes peace
with Genoa, 313

Albert Azzo, lord of Canossa, 53 ;
descendants of, 53

Alessandria, position of, 25 ; founda-
tion of, 138; besieged by Bar-
barossa, 143 ; makes peace with
Barbarossa, 154 ; destroys Capriata,
165; hostile to Asti, 218; sides

with Otho, 218 ; at war with
Genoa, 237 ; attack on, by army of
Frederick II., 275 ; goes over to
side of, 286 ; re-enters League, 295;
submits to Frederick II., 298 ;
causes of changes of side of, 300^
312 ; under Oberio Pelavidni, 334 ;
forces of Oberto withdrawn from,
338 ; parties in, 339 ; Charles of
Anjou made lord of, 339 ; one fac-
tion expels the other seven times
from, 342 ; seized by Ghibellines,
362 ; vicissitudes of, 368 ; Guelfs
give lordship to William of Mont-
ferrat, 369 ; he recalls Ghibellines
to, 369 ; revolt of, from Montf errat,
372 ; Marquis William imprisoned
in a cage in, 372 ; Matteo Visconti
made lord of, 372 ; under Robert
of , Naples, 401, 411 ; submission of,
to Visconti, 413 ; surrender of, to
Guelfs, 437 ; comes under rule of
Visconti, 461

Altinum, 27 ; destroyed by Attila, 33

Andent of the People, 352

Ancients, see Signoria

Ancona, siege of, 132 ; second siege
of, 141 ; Mark of, 141, 215, 234

Anghera, county of, 160, 172

Anjou, Charles of, receives lordship
of Milan, 336 ; accepts crovim of
Naples from the Pope ; made lord
of several towns in Piedmont, 337 ;
his army traverses Lombardy, 337 ;
e£fect of this, 338 ; attempts to
become ruler of Guelf cities, 361 ;
towns under, 387 ; House of. Counts
of Provence, 397 ; Kings of Naples,

397
Ansedisio dei Guidotti, nephew of

30 ^

466

INDEX

Eczelino, 316; cruelties of, 316;
bad generalship of, 218 ; executed
by Ezzelino, 219
Antenor, founder of Padua, 22
Antipope : Burdinus, 84 ; Anaclet,
96 ; Victor III., 119 ; Paschal III.,
125, 134; set up by Louis of
Bavaria, 448 v

Aosta, position of, 26 ; rule of House

of Savoy in, 378
Aquileia, 25, 27 ; foundation of, 29 ;
destruction of, by Attila, 33 ; patri-
archs of, 53 ; war of, with Trevtso,
209 ; Raimondo della Torre, Patri-
arch of, 364
Arduin, Markgraf of Ivrea, 56
Arengo, 227

Argenta, taken by Estensi, 439
Ariald, leader of Papal party in
Milan, 67 ; mutilated and tortured
to death, 68
Aribert becomes Archbishop of
Milan, 58 ; grant of rights over
Lodi to, 59 ; at war with the
Valvassors, 60; imprisoned by
Bmperor Conrad, 61 ; escape of,
61 ; arms and disciplines the
Milanese, 62 ; invents the Car-
roccio, 62 ; abandons Milan, 63 ;
death of, 66
Arimanni, meaning of, 47
Arloti, family in Mantua, 351
Arti, name for trades guilds, 186,
351 ; consuls of, 352 ; triumph of
marks a Guelf victory in many
cities, 355 ; in Bologna, 358 ; in
Verona, 433 ; abolished by des-
pots, 439
Artistse, 81, 180
Asolo, 320, 327

Asti, position of, 26 ; Bishop of, slain,
60 ; towers of, 79 ; bunied by Bar-
barossa, 102 ; joins the Lombard
League, 136; surrenders to Bar-
barossa, 143 ; middle classes of, in-
different to factions, 200 ; chroni-
cles of, 205 ; sides with Frederick
II., 218; defeated by Milan, 223 ;
citizens of, begin to lend money,
229 ; at war with Alessandria,
237 ; great defeat of, 243 ; lands of,

ravaged by twenty-ttnee dio,
243 ; admits Pope Innocent IV^ 3^;
abandons FTederidc ll^vfj; re-
turns to its allegiance, 298 ; ckai^^
of side of, 312 ; supporters of En-
peror expelled from, 313; ss|>-
poits Charles of Anjou, 55?^
chronicler of, on factioas, 342;
factions in, confined to nobks,
343 : sack of, by Montfcrrait, 373 ^
Ghibellines expelled from, 390;
restoration of exHes to, by Henry
VII., 400 ; answer of Guetts oL
to King Rol>ert of Naples, 4D0;
revolt of, from Henry VIL, 4*;
under Robert of Naples, Aii;
Guelf s supreme in, 451 ; banded
over to Montf errat, 461 ; sold tc
^scontt, 461

Attila, invasion of, 33

Atto, Archbishop of Milan, 69

Averganghi, 313

Baochiglione, 24, 427

Baone, Cecilia of, 208

Baradello, CasUe of, 85, 148, I53;
Delia Torre impriaoned in, 563;
escape of one of Della Torre from,
370

Barbaras!, party name in Qncmooa,
346

Barbarossa, see Frederick L

BardelH, party name in Brescia, 3^

Bassano, fief of Hoose of Rooodq,
207 ; Commune of, 309 ; at vari-
ance with Vioenza, 209 ,* seised
by revolted serfs, 251 ; captured
by Ezzelino^ 286, 320 ; avoided bj
Ezzelino, 324 ; places itsdf ooder
Padua, 330

Bavaria, 94 ; Henry of, 118, 147 :
Dukes of, 193 ; Louis of, 417

Beccaria, 500 Beccfaeria

Beccheria, family of, heads Ghibd-
line popolo in Pavia, 349 ; leive
city, 372, 374, 383. 386; given
lordship of Pavia by Visconti,4i3;
made Imperial Vicars, 445; stir
up a revolt in Pavia against Kin^

INDEX

467

John, 455 ; role of, in Pavia, 463 ;
join confederacy against Visconti,
463 ; leave Pavia, 463

Belforte, lords of, 135, 136

Belisarins, 34

Bellagio revolts from Como, 86, 166

Bellinzona granted to Bishops of
Como, 59; lordship of, retained
by Rusooni, 459

Belluno, position of, 37 ; ezclnded
from Peace of Constance, 156;
Bishops of, 207 ; attacked by Tre-
viso, 309 ; taken by Treviso, 351 ;
taken biy Ezzelino, 305 ; recovers
its freedom, 337 ; under da Camino,
386 ; under Scaligers, 387 ; taken
by Can Grande, 430

Belmonte, 153, 164

Benevento, Battle of, 338

Benzoni, Ventuino, despot oi Crema,
387 ; executed, 409

Berengar, Markgraf of Ivrea, ob-
tains crown of Italy, 51 ; conquered
by Otho of Saxony, 53

Bergamo, position of, 26 ; plundered
by Attila, 33 ; grant to Bishop of,
43 ; Bishop of, made ruler of the
whole diocese, 44; hostile to
Milan and Brescia, 93 ; allies of,
94; defeat of, by Brescia, 106;
joins the Lombard League, 130;
at war with Bresda, 161 ; aided
by eleven dties, 161 ; defeated by
Brescia, 163 ; under an interdict
for thirty years, 300 ; favours
FKderick 11^ 370 ; a force from,
menaces confederate army at
Cortenuova, 373 ; men of, fall on
fugitives from battle, 373 ; Guelf
nobles of, 333 ; Filippo della Torre,
signore of, 334 ; factions in, con-
fined to nobles, 343 ; inhabitants of,
murder strangers on account of
their manner of cutting garlic,
348 ; rival families in, 349 ; torn
by factions, 387 ; Alberto Scotto,
signore of, 387; ejq>ulsion of
Guelfs from, 413; King John
made lord of, 453 ; annexation of,
by Visconti, 455

Bertinoro, Countess of, 141, 264

Biandrate, Counts of, 73; Countess
of, 87; Count of, attacks Como,
90 ; negotiates peace for Milanese,
108 ; aids Frederick I., I30 ; joins
Lombard League, 139 ; castle of,
destroyed, 139 ; fate of, 170; lands
of Counts of, 173 ; Count of, joins
second Lombard League, 339

Bishops, authority of, under later
Roman Empire, 33 ; chosen by
popular election, 40 ; acquire great
estates, 40; acquire temporal
authority, 43; made temporal
rulers of their dioceses, 44 ; rule
of, over cities, 54 ; emancipation
of cities from rule of, 54; how
elected, 59 ; " Investiture " of, 65 ;
appointed by kings as a reward
for political services, 65 ; simoni-
acal Bishops, 70 ; aid Frederick I.,
no

Bobbio, position of, 36; taken by
Piacenza, 166 ; Irish monastery at,
236; annexed by Visconti, 463

Boii, the, 38

Bologna, the Etruscan Felsina, 33 ;
position of, 35 ; towers of, 79, 80 ;
hostility of, to Modena, 94 ; allies of,
94f; joins the Lombard League, 136;
invites settiers, 169 ; frees its serfs,
170 ; quarrels of, with Modena, 176 ;
prominence of tmtcfaers in, 186;
illtreatment of Podestits in, 188;
Anziani of, 190 ; towers of, 193 ;
supports Guelfs, 198 ; attacks
Modena, 3 10 ; sides with Otho,
317 ; Palazzo del Podesta at, 337 ;
great attack of, on Modena, 343 ;
defeat of, 343 ; new attack, 343 ;
defeat of, and capture of Carrocdo
of, 343 ; revolution in, 243 ; attack
on, by Frederick II., 281 ; attacks
and conquers Romagna, 306 ;
attacks Modena, 306 ; army of,
306 ; victory of, at Fossalta, 306 ;
decree of Senate of, re King Enzio,
307 ; besieges Modena, 307 ; peace
between, and Modena, 307 ; 12,000
persons expelled from, 347 ; atro-
cities in, 347 ; rival families i
348 ; popolo of Ottdf , 349 ; guilds

468

INDEX

gain share in government of, 352 ;
first Captain of the People in, 353 ;
disabilities of lawyers in, 354;
nnmber of noble families and
towers in, 355; leaning towers
<^i 355 ; feuds of nobles in, 356 ;
quarrel of, with Pope, 356 ; feud
of Lambertani and Geremei in,
356; tragedy of Bonifazio and
Imelda in, 356; nobles of, take
sides in feud, 357 ; first Captain
of the People in, 357 ; constitution
of, 367; Companies of Arms in,
357 ; nobles of, excluded from
Companies of Arms, 358; ez-
conununication of, 358 ; street
fighting in, 358 ; constant quarrels
in, 358; spedal laws against
nobles in, 358; appearance of
Ghibelline faction in, 368 ; war
of, with Modena, 359; attack on
Forli, 359 ; street fighting in, 359 ;
expulsion of tombertazzi from,
359; "Sacred Ordinances" of,
359 ; nobles of, subject to a special
code of laws, 360 ; diminution of
fighting power of Commune, 360 ;
great defeats of, 360 ; long dura-
tion of liberty in, 361 ; change of
attitude of, 390 ; restoration of
Ghibellines to, 390 ; hostility of,
to Estensi, 390; alliance of, with
Ghibellines, 391 ; forms league
against Estensi, 393 ; revolution
in, 393 ; atrocities in, 392 ; Lam-
bertazzi expelled from, 394;
liberties of, threatened by Romeo
dei Pepoli, 439; defeat of, by
Modena, 443 ; races run round
walls of, by victors, 444; gives
itself to Papal legate, 450 ; revolt
of, from legate, 459 ; factions in,
460; Taddeodd Pepoli proclaimed
signore of, 461
Bonaccolsi, Pinamonte, heads the
people of Mantua, 351 ; a Ghibel-
line, 351 ; becomes despot, 351 ;
rule of House of, in Mantua, 383 ;
Bottioella, despot of Mantua, 386 ;
Passerino made Imperial Vicar,
409 ; proclaimed lord of Modena,

410 ; attadES Cremona, 414 ; ex-
pelled, 442 ; recovers dty, 442 ;
routs Bolognese, 443; <xp6kd
from Modena, 444; tyranny ai
and conspiracy against, 446; dea^
of, 446 ; destmction ai iamly oi
446
Bonghi,387
Bononia, 23

Bonvesin, Pra, of Riva, 227
Borgo San Donnino, burned by
Parma, 98 ; rights aver, gracied
to Piacenza, 162 ; struggte for
freedom of, 165 ; rased by Par-
mesans, 165 ; granted to PSacenza,
202 ; ceded to Parma, 203
Boschetti, Guelf family of Modena, b

exile, 392
Bosco, Marquises of, 153, 291
Brancaleone de^ Andalo, 356
Brenta R., 22, 24; course of, di-
verted, 318
Bresda, position of, 26 ; plundered
by Attila, 33 ; territory of, gianrei!
to Tbedald of Canossa, 53 ; aSkd
with Milan against Cremooa, 75 ;
enemies of, 93 ; allied with Milan,
93 ; supports Lothair, 96 ; def ean
Bergamo, 106 ; capitulates to Bar-
barossa, 106; unsoccessfolly at-
tacks Cremona, 115; joins the
Lombard League, 130; at war
with Bergamo, 161 ; defeats Bo-
gamo and its allies, 162 ; (fisoonb
between nobles and popok> ir,
183 ; supports Guelfs, 198 ; nobks
of, support Ghibellines, 199 ; dis-
cord in, 203; Carroodo of,
captured, 203; popolo of, side
with Otho, 217 ; Broletto of, 2?; .
Frederick II. invades territory d,
270 ; attadc on, by Frederick IL,
275 ; courage of men of, 276 ; si^
of, 276 ; cruelties during siege (^
276 ; failure of si^e of, 277 ; feeds
of nobles and people in, 321 ;
nobles of, join Ezzelino, 321 ; sor-
render of, to Ezzelino, 321 ; nde
of, shared by Ezzelino, Buogo da
Doara, and Oberto Pelavidni, 322 ;
Ezzelino sole mler of, 322 ; cam-

INDEX

469

paign of Ezzelino in territory of,
323 ; nobles of, at)andon EzzelinOi
325 ; Oberto Pelavicini made lord
off 330 ; revolt of, from Pelavicini,
338 ; discord in, 344 ; many nobles
of, become Guelf, 344 ; expulsion
of Ghibellines from, 344 ; lordship
of, given to Charles of Anjou, 345 ;
twenty-three years* internal peace
i"} 345 ; five factions in, 345 ; vidssi-
todes of, 345 ; Robert of Naples
made lord of, 346 ; Bnisati and
Maggi head parties in, 349;
party names in, 349; Bishop
Maggi lord of, 387 ; revolt of, from
Henry VII., 404 ; siege of, 405 ;
surrender of, 405 ; result of siege
of, 406 ; expulsion of Guelfs from*
408 ; Ghibellines expelled from
415 ; Guelfs of, call in King John
of Bohemia, 451 ; he is proclaimed
lord of, 452 ; Guelfs of, open gates
to Scaligers, 454 ; atrocities in,
454 ; end of freedom of, 455

Brixia, 23

Broletto, 227

Brusati, 176; leading Guelfs of
Bresda, 345 ; expelled, 345 ; Te-
baldo, incites rising against Henry
VII., 404 ; put to death, 405

Burgaria, county of, 156, 160

Byzantines, war of, with Goths, 34 ;
Lombards conquer Ravenna from,
36 ; cities held by, 47

Cassarea, see Alessandria

Calaon, 315

Camerino, destruction of, 347

Camino, Lords of, 140, 206 ; feud of,
with House of Romano, 251 ; join
Frederick II., 267 ; seize Treviso,
280; Biachino da, helps Parma,
303 ; leads army against Ezzelino,
321 ; head Guelfs of Treviso, 386 ;
Oherardo, becomes lord of Treviso,
Peltre, and Belluno, 386 ; Dante's
0 opinion of, 386 ; cities subject to,

387 ; Rizzardo, becomes Imperial
Vicar, 409 ; assassination of, 410 ;

Guecelo succeeds him, 410; ex-
pelled from Treviso, 410 ; Guecelo,
430

Camposampiero, family of, 208;
feud of, vrith House of Romano,
208 ; sole survivor of family of,
286 ; William of, put to death by
Ezzelino, 316 ; Tisone of, 317 ;
William of, murdered, 426

Cannobbio, 164

Canossa, 51 ; Henry IV. at, 71 ;
House of, 71

Capelletti, party name in Cremona,

349

Capitani, see Captains

Captain of the People, 313, 352 ; his
duties, 352 ; his councils and
courts, 352 ; his palace, 353 ; first
appearance of, 353 ; in Bologna,
357 ; of Verona, 433

Captains, meaning of, 47 ; quarrel of,
with Valvassors, 60 ; Captains and
Valvassors of Lodi expelled, 75;
position of, in the Communes, 81 ;
in Frignano, 176, 178 ; of Milan,
237, 238

Capua, Prince of, 116

Carcano, battle of, 120 '

Carlovingians, 41, 42, 43 ; break up
of Empire of, 50; nomination of
Bishops by, 59

Camesino, 153

Carpi, 460

Carrara, Jaoopo da, 286 ; family of,
426 ; Giaoomo da, becomes lord of
Padua, 429 ; dissensions in family
of, 431 ; Marsilio da, proclaimed
Signore, and surrenders Padua to
Can Grande, 431

Carretto, Marquis of, 291, 292, 297,

298, 313, 367

Carroccio, institution of, 62 ; Mila-
nese, 98, 120, 121 ; of Brescia, 183 ;
of Milan captured, 220; Milanese
at Cortenuova, 272 ; of Cremona
named Berta, 305 ; of Parma
named Blancardo, 308 ; of Bologna,
360

Casale, 20 ; vioissitudes of, 165 ;
population of, carried off by
Milanese, 222 ; under William of

470

INDEX

Montferrat, 369; capture of, by
Giovanni of Montferrat, 373 ;
acknowledges lordship of Mont-
ferrat, 461

Casaloldl family in Mantu^ 351 ; a-
pclled,35i

Casaano, 333 ; Eszelino*s superstition
regarding, 334

Castel Bolognese, 153, 164

Caslel Leone, batUe of, 319

Castelfranoo, 381

Castelli, name of Ghlbeilines of Asti,

390
Castelli, lead OhibeUines in Treviso,

386 ; Gberardo^ mler of Treviso,

386
Cavalcabo, Marqois, head of Ore-

monese Gnelfs, death of, 409;

Jaoopo, proclaimed Signore of

Cremona, 414 ; resigns, 414 ; slain,

419
Cerro. 315

Cervia joins Guelfs, 306
Cesena, 39; allied with Bologna,

317 ; allied with Paenza, 264 ;

surrenders to Frederick II., 388;

joins Guelfs, 306
Ccva, Marquis of, 291, 393, 398, 367,

398

Charlemagne conquers Lomlnrds,
36; crowned £nq)eror, 36; de-
scendants of, 50

Chiavenna granted to Bishop of
Como, 59

Chierasco, position of, 36 ; chooses
Charles of Anjou as lord, 337 ;
under House of Anjou, 397

Chieri, position of, 35 ; burned by
Barbarossa, 103 ; under King
Charles of Naples, 387 ; wars of,
397 ; comes under House of Savoy,
463

Chivasso, 164

Christian of Mainz, 141, 145, 147

Cisalpine Gaul, Roman conquest of,
38 ; condition of, under Empire,
30 ; government of, about 400 A.D.,
31 ; city life in, 33 ; civitaUs of,
40,93

Cittadella, 319, 330

Gives, meaning of, 47

Civitas, meaning of, 31 ; unit of ad-
ministration, 40; coincides with
county and with diocese, 41

Coleoni, family of, 349, 387

Colle, 85

Comacchio gives itself to Estensi,
439. 44B

Commune, meaning of, 80; Coonci]
of the, 78 ; palace of the, 227, 353

Communes, aristocratic fonn of
government in, 80 ; dass atru^gles
in, 83 ; larger Communes absorb
smaller ones, 86 ; quarrels of the,
93 ; hostilities of, with oonntry
nobles, 98 ; privileges of, 112 ;
treatment of dependent comnrani-
ties by, 166 ; emandpatioa of serfs
by, 166; treatment of coontry
nobles by, 169 ; conquer Contado,
173; position of nobles in, 179;
dass quarrels in, 183, 186; feuds
of the nobles in, 190; origins of
Guelf and Ghibelline fadioos in,
198 ; individuality of, 3oi ; wars
between, 334 ; public buildings of,
337 ; energy of tnirghers of, 331 ;
views of Frederick II. as regards,
374 ; disastrous results of struggle
with Frederick II. for, 309;
quarrels of Guelfs and Ghibellines
in, 311 ; shif tings of groi4>ing of,
311 ; increase of faction in, 311 ;
*' eaUes of the," 346 ; government
of, becomes that of a faction, 346 ;
wholesale ei^ulsions from, 347;
government of, by middle classes,
354 ; condition of nobles in, 354 ;
growing ineffidency of infantry of,
398 ; smaller absorbed by greater,
408 ; increase in power of nobles
in, 439 ; rely on mercenaries or
nobles for cavalry, 440 ; nobles
now indispensable to, 440 ; diffi-
culty of keeping nobles perma-
nently in subjection to, 443 ; slory
of, centres round rivalry of Pavia
and Milan, 463

Conmenus, Manuel, I36, 137, 133

Como, position of, 36; grants to
Bishop of, 59; control of, over
trade rootes, 60; claims of, to

INDEX

471

BelUnzona, &c., 73 ; war of, with
Milan, 84 ; pillaged by Milanese,
85 ; reyolt of subject oommunities,
86; attacked by fourteen dties,
87 ; fleet of, 88 ; Bishop Gaido of,
90 ; abandoned by inhabitants, 90;
conquest of, by Milan, 91 ; joins
the Lombard League, 136 ; de-
clares for Barbarossa, 145;
attacked by the League, 146;
made feudal superior of the Valtel-
line ; 172 ; parties in, 200 ; poem
on war of, with Milan, 204 ; Bro-
letto of, 227 ; cloth of, 228 ; goes
over to Frederick XL, 274 ; hostili-
ties of, with Milan, 293 ; forced to
re-enter League, 307 ; dissensions
between nobles and people in,
333 ; under the Vitani, 333 ; under
Pelavidni, 334 ; Filippodelb Torre
signore of, 334 ; violence of faction
in, 342 ; rivalry of Rusooni and
Vitani in, 349 ; comes under Rus-
ooni, 362 ; goes over to side of
Delia Torre, 370 ; war of, with
Milan, 370; rule of Matteo Vis-
conti in, 372 ; Rusconi of, attack
Visconti, 389; expulsion of Rus-
coni from, 390 ; expulsion of Vitani
from, 413 ; under Ravizza Rusca,
451 ; handed over to Visconti, 459

Companies of Arms in Bologna, 357,
360

Comum, 23

Comune Civitatis, meaning of, 73, 80

Concordia, 27 ; destruction of, by
Attila, 33

Conrad the Salic succeeds Henry IL,
58 ; crowned at Milan, 58 ; attacks
Pavia, 59 ; grants of, to Aribert, 59 ;
quarrels with Aribert, 61 ; is recon-
ciled with Pavia, 61 ; makes all
fiefs hereditary, 62 ; death of, 62

Conrad IIL, assumes royal title, 92 ;
received by Milanese, 95 ; crowned
at Monza, 95 ; opposed by Pavia,
Cremona, and other cities, 96 ;
submits to Lothair, 97 ; succeeds
Lothair, 97 ; crusade of, 97 ; death
of, 97, 193

Conrad IV., son and successor of

Frederick IL, 309, 313 ; death of,
336

Consorterie, 79, 80, 180

Consortes, towers built by, 79

Constance, Diet of, 100 ; peace of,
155 ; burghers of, receive Frede-
rick II., 219 ; treaty of, 402

Constantine rearranges provinces, 31

Constantinople, Emperors at, 19 ; in-
signia of Etapire sent to, 34 ; cities
subject to Emperors of, 44

Consuls, first mention of, 78 ; func-
tions of, 78 ; class representation
among, 81 ; how chosen in Milan,
81, 180 : replaced by Podesta, 186

Contado, meaning of, 43 ; conquest
of, by Communes, 172 ; held by
exiles from the cities, 343

Correggeschi, see Da Correggio

Cortenoova, battle of, 272

Councils, 78 ; of the Captain of the
People, 352 ; of the Commune,
353 ; of Bologna, 357 ; in Verona,

433

Counts set up by Prankish monarchs,
40; turn (>own domains into
private possessions, 41 ; superseded
in the cities by the Bishops, 42 ;
authority of, limited to the country
districts, 43 ; allodial proprietors ac-
quire rights of , 54 ; of Vicenza, 208

Credenza, 78 ; of Lodi, 100 ; becomes
Council of Podesta, 189 ; of Sant'
Ambrogio, 183, 238

Crema, position of, 24; grant of, to
Cremona by Countess Matilda, 75 ;
alliance of, with Milan, 75 ; cap-
ture of, by Cremona, 76 ; puts itself
under protection of Milan, 97 ; be-
sieged by Barbarossa, 116 ; capitu-
lates to Barbarossa, 118 ; given to
the Cremonese, 118 ; restored by
Milanese, 160; again granted to
Cremona, 162-1^ ; put to the t>an
of the Empire, 163 ; resists Cre-
mona, 163 ; sides with Emperor
Otho, 217 ; under Oberio Pela-
vidni, 323 ; crudfix in, indines its
head to "the Guelf side," 348;
taken by Buoso da Doara, 366;
Gomes under William of Mont-

472

INDEX

f errat, 369 ; under Ventorino Ben-
zoni, 387 ; revolt of, from Henry
VII., 403; goes over to Guelfs,
415 ; King John made lord of,
453 ; surrender of, to Visconti, 459
Cremona, position of, 24 ; captored
by Lombards, 35 ; hostility be-
tween Milan and, 59; opposes
Henry IV., 72 ; attacks Crema, 74 ;
attacks Tortona, 75 ; enemies of,
93 ; claims dominion over Crema,
93 ; allies of, 94 ; supports Lothair,
96 ; quarrels with him, 97 ; wars
of, 97 ; army of, captured by
Milanese, 97 ; beats Milan, 98 ;
Crema given to, by Barbarossa,
118 ; joins the Lombard League,
130 ; renounces the League, 150 ;
attacked by Barbarossa, 160 ; de-
feats Brescia, 184; discord in,
184; supports Ghibellines, 198;
parties in, 200 ; growing power of,
203 ; wars of, 203 ; annals of, 204 ;
sides with Frederick II., 217 ;
chief opponent of Milan, 219 ;
great victory of, 220 ; cathedral of,
227 ; projected Diet at, 239 ;
Frederick II. sends Eastern
animals to, 259 ; Frederick II.
fixes his headquarters at, 265 ;
triumphal entry of Frederick II.
into, 273 ; CarroGcio of, enters
lands of Milan, 282 ; takes part in
siege of Parma, 302 ; Carrocdo of,
captured, 305 ; defeats Parma and
takes Carrocdo, 308 ; under Oberto
Pelavicini and Buoso da Doara,
314; alliance of, with Ezzelino,
321 ; joins League against him,
322 ; heads Ghibellines of Lom-
bardy, 336; expulsion of Oberto
Pelavicini from, 339 ; expulsion of
Buoso and 10,000 Ghibellines from,
339 ; on side of Guelfs, 340 ; party
government in, 346 ; party names
iQf 349; triumph of Guelfs in
triumph of popolo, 349; Charles
of Anjou made Signore of, 361 ;
champion of the Guelfs, 365 ;
attack on, by Ghibelline lords,
394 : decline of, 394 ; ruinous con-

dition of, 398 ; revott oC, froa
Henry VII., 403 ; harsh treahacdt
of, 404 ; taken by exiles, 409;
vicissitudes of, 414; fadioDS ia,
416 ; surrender of, to Milan, 419 ;
King John made lord ot, 453 ; tak
of, to Ponzino Pdnzone, 457;
lamentable oonditioa of, 458 ; sc-
render of, to Visooati« 458

Cuneo, founded by Milanese, 244:
chooses Charles of An joo as kxi
337 ; under King Charles of Naples,
387 ; under Hoose Kd Anjoa, 397

Curia, 31

Da Canossa, family of Rsggjxy^ 44a,
441

Da Corr^gio, family of, joei
Guelfs, 301 ; Gfaiberto, 391 ; be-
trays Alberto Sootta, 391 ; node
Signore of Parma, 392; dedans
for the Ghibellines, 392 ; attacks
Marquis of Este, 392 ; made Im-
perial Vicar by Heary VII^ 406;
causes Parma and Reggio to revel
from him, 408 ; treachery of, 414 ;
proclaims himself locd of Cremcna,
414; downfall of, 414; sons of,

435

Da Polenta, Bernardino, lord of
Ravenna, occupies Perrara, 39s
456

Dalesmannini, put to dea& by
Ezzelino, 316

Dante : Reference of, to Ravenna, 37;
to the good old times, 83, r67 ; to
the Veronese Mark, 206 ; to Car-
dinal degli Ubaldini, 306; to
Cnnizza da Romano, 329 ; to Booso
da Doara, 339 ; to Bishop of Peltre,
347 ; to William of Montferrat,372;
to Gherardo da Camino, 386 ; to
distracted state of Italy, 398 ; to his
reception at Verona, 421 ; to Can
Grande della Scala,423 ; sojourn of,
at court of Can Grande, 423

De Andito, see Landi

Delia Scala, Origin of, family, 168;
Mastino chosen as Podesta dd
Popolo in Verona, 385 ; assassina-

INDEX

473

tion of, 385 ; his brother Alberto,
385 ; rule of House of, in Verona,
385 ; Alberto rules Verona, 386 ;
care of, for his subjects, 388 ; Cane,
will not restore exiles, 402 ; seizes
Vicenza, 409 ; Cane and Alboino
made Imperial Vicars, 409 ; Cane
makes war on Padua, 410 ; rule of
family of, in Verona, 420 ; death of
Alberto, 421 ; his eldest son Bar-
tolommeo, 421 ; Dante and, 421 ;
Alboino, 42 1 ; Francesco, aii as Can
Grande, 421 ; character of, 422 ;
patronises art and letters, 422 ;
court of, 422 ; Dante and, 423 ;
Alboino dies, 425; Cane makes
war on Padua, 425 ; becomes
master of Vicenza, 425; routs
Paduans, 428 ; made Captain-
General of Ghibelline league, 430 ;
l>e8ieges Padua, 430 ; routed, 430 ;
captures Feltre and Belluno, 430 ;
Treviso surrenders to, 431 ; power
of, 431 ; death of, 432 ; monument
of, 432 ; Alberto and Mastino, sons
of Alboino, succeed, 432 ; intrigue
of Cane against Visconte, 445 ;
Cane joins plot against Bonaccolsi,
446 ; Mastino allies himself with
Bresdan Guelfs, 454; becomes
master of the city, 454 ; his treat-
ment of the Ghibellines, 454 ; his
brother All)erto's indignation, 455 ;
Parma and Lucca surrender to,
458 ; forces Reggio to surrender,
459
Delia Torre, Pagano, helps fugitives
from Cortenuova, 273 ; Martino,
323 ; Pagano, 332 ; Martino, leader
of popular party in Milan, 333 ;
chosen ** Ancient of the People,"
333; FiUppo, rules Milan, Lodi,
Como, Bergamo, and Vercelli, 334;
Napoleone, head of the family, 338 ;
makes peace with Pope, 340 ; rule
of family of, in Milan, 342 ; family
of, head people against nobles, 348 ;
Napoleone made Imperial Vicar,
362 ; defeated and captured, 363 ;
Cassone, flies from Milan, 363;
captured members of family im-

prisoned in cages, 363 ; Raimendo,
Patriarch of Aquileia, 364 ; Cassone,
slain, 366; release of surviving
members of family of, 370 ; retire
from Lombardy, 373 ; rule of, in
Milan, 383 ; recalled from Friuli,
389 ; re-enter Milan, 389 ; Guido,
made lord of Milan, 396 ; and of
Piacenza, 396; tries to organise
resistance to Henry VII., 399 ;
forced to submit to him, 400 ;
quarrel of, with Henry VII., 402 ;
expelled from Milan, 403 ; Pagano,
Patriarch of Aquileia, 437

Delle Vigne, Pietro, 272, 280

Dertona, 23

Desio, battle of, 363

Diocletian, rearranged provinces, 31

Doara, Anselmoda, 171 ; Buoso da,
302, 314 ; ruler of Cremona, 320 ;
quarrels with Ezzelino, 322 ; Po-
desti of the Mercadanza in Cre-
mona, 334; prepares to resist
Charles of Anjou, 337 ; treachery
of, 338 ; expels Oberto Pelavidni
from Cremona, 339 ; expelled from
Cremona, 339 ; Dante's reference
to, 339 ; reappearance of, 366 ; his
rule in Cremona, 382

Docda, 153

Domaso, see Trepievi

Dominicans, 255

Dongo, see Trepievi

Dora Baltea, River, 22, 26

Dora Riparia, River

Dukes, set up by Lombards in the
dties,4o

£
Emilia, situation of, 20 ; province

of, 31
Emilian dties, 92 ; alliances of, 94 ;

internal tranquilUty of, 201 ; annals

of, 204; active supporters of

Frederick II., 300 ; freedom from

dissensions of, 300
England, wool of, 228 ; Isabella of,

260 : Henry III. of, sends knights to

aid Frederick II., 275
Enzio, son of Frederick II., 279, 298,

301, 302 ; ttakes command of army

474

INDEX

of Ifodena, 306 ; defeated andca^)-
tnred, 307 ; death of, 307

Bite, pooitioii of , 35 ; castie of , taken
by Padua, 2ao ; taken by Ezzelino,
but recovered, 278; captnred by
Ezaelino, 305 ; recovered by Mar-
qnis, 319 ; taken by Padua, 374 ;
taken by Can Grande, 439

Este, Marquises of, 54; forced to
become bwghen of Padua, 173 ;
possessions of, 306 ; preserve their
independence, 206 ; quarrel of Axso
of, with Ezzelino, 210 ; take part in
feuds in Perrara, 211 ; OImzzo of,
betrothed to Marchesella, 211 ;
Azzo of, heads a faction in Ferrara,
212 ; allies of, 212 ; expels the
Hontecchi from Verona, 213 ; takes
Penara, 213 ; forms a league with
Cremona and Modena, 213 ; expels
Ezzelino from Vicenza and attacks
Bassano, 214 ; loses Ferrara, 214 ;
made Marquis of Anoona, 215;
disobeys Emperor Otho, 216 ;
champion of the Papal cause, 217 ;
defeat of, 220 ; death, 220 ; Aldo-
brandino of, forced to submit to
Padua, 220; Azzo VII. expels
Salinguerra from Ferrara, 346 ;
attacks Salinguerra, 246; made
Podesta of Vicenza,26i ; hostility of,
to Emperor, 261 ; made general of
Padua, 267 ; submits to Emperor,
267 ; attempts to seize Padua, 277 ;
attacks Ferrara, 284; l>ecomes
master of thatdty, 285 ; commands
forces of Mark, 328 ; ICarquis of,
becomes lord of Reggio and
Modena, 344 ; quarrel of, with
Padua, 373 ; alliance of with Vis-
conti, 373 ; Azzo VIII. of, at war
with Guelf Conmiunes, 374; alli-
ance of, with Ghit)eUines of Ro-
magna, 374 ; cedes territories north
of Adige to Padua, 374 ; nature of
rule of, 378 ; attack on, by neigh-
bours, 392 ; Ferrara loyal to, 393 ;
Azzo VI I L of, dies, 394 ; his will,
394 ; dissensions in House of, 394 ;
Francesco and Aldrobrandino of,
lose Ferrara, 396; keep Rovigo,

396 ; murder <rf Fkanoeaco a£, 396 ;
Rinskldo and Obaxxo of, reoofvcr
Ferrara, 415 ; are exoommankated
and join GhibeUioes, 415 ; increas-
ing power of, 439 ; make peace
with Pope, 448

Etruscans, Lea^^ of twelve Esxus-
can cities, 23 ; Pdsina and Maotia
cities of, 22

Euganean Hills, see Moati 1

Evil Field, battie of, 60

Exerdtus, meaning of, 45

Ezzelino of Romano ''the
merer," 171 ; power of, 207 ;
general of Lombard Leaga^ 207

Ezzelino "the Monk" niKies
Cecilia of Baooe, 208 ; f ends 01,
209; quarrels with Marquis d
Eate, 210 ; quarrels witti Count of
San Bonifazio, 210 ; aUianceof, with
Salinguerra, 212 ; eiq>elled frooi
Vicenza, 214; retires to a moo-
astery, 246; attitude of, towards
Frederick 11^247 ; saves the life ci
Count of San BoniEazio, 253 ; sus-
pected of heresy, 253 ; children of,

329
Ezzelino III., first es^loit of, 245;
heads Monteochi and seises Verona,
247 ; attitude of, towards popular
party, 248 ; change of side of, 249 :
attacks Camposampieri, 251 ; im-
prisons Count of San Ronifaao,
253 ; negotiates with Frederick lU
254; excommunicated, 255; defi-
nitely becomes master of Verona,
262 ; made ruler of Vicenza, 266 ;
Padua and Treviso surrender to,
268 ; enemies of, in the Mark, 277 ;
change in character of, 286 ; cruel-
ties of, 286 ; increasing severity of,
294; growing power of, 315;
tyranny of, 315 ; attempts to assas-
sinate, 317 ; crusade against, 317 ;
loses Padua, 318 ; vengeance of, on
the Paduans, 320 ; reomciled with
Alberic, 320 ; captures Brescia, 331;
quarrels with Buoso da Doaro and
Oberto Pelavicini, 323 ; league
against, 322 ; plans to get posses-
sion of Milan, 322 ; marches on the

INDBX

475

dty, 333 ; his design fmstrated,
314; beaten and wounded at
Cassano, 334; capture and death
of, 335 ; character of, 335 ; Leo's
theory as to, 336; rejoicings at
death of, 337 ; role of, in Verona
rests on popular support 381 ;
nature of his rule in the Mark, 381

Faenza, joins Lombard League, 136 ;
goes over to Christian of Mainz,
145 ; discord in, 183 ; member of
second Lombard League, 364 ; be-
comes predominant in Romagna,
364 ; subdues Porli, Porlimpopoli,
and Bertinoro, 365 ; leading city of
Romagna, 387 ; siege of, by
Frederidc IL, 387 ; surrender of,
388 ; besieged by Bolognese and
forced to surrender, 306 ; rejoins
Frederick IL, 308; rivalry of
Acarisi and Manfredi in, 348 ;
Lamt)ertazd retire to, 359 ; victory
of, over Bologna, 360

Felsina, see Bologna

Feltre, excluded from Peace of
Constance, 156 ; Bishops of, 307 ;
attacked byTreviso, 351 ; captured
by Ezzelino, 305 ; recovers its
freedom, 337 ; Bishop of, betrays
Ghibellines of Ferrara, 347;
under Gherardo da Camino, 386 ;
under Scaligers, 387; taken by
Can Grande, 430

Ferioli, party name in Brescia, 345

Ferrara, position of, 35 ; foundation
of, 35 ; a fief of the Archbishops of
Ravenna, 53 ; joins the Lombard
League, 133 ; factions* in, 193 ;
partisans of the Estensi in, 198;
popular party in, supports Ghibel-
lines, 300; at war with Ravenna,
lkQ3 ; factions in, 3io ; vicissitudes
of, 311 ; desiruction of towers and
houses in, 3i3 ; seized by Azzo of
£ste, 313 ; seized by Salinguerra,
314 ; rule in, shared by Salinguerra
and Aldobrandino of Este, 330 ;
peace broken in, 346; joins
Firederkk IL, 367 ; prosperity of,

under Salinguerxa, 383 ; traffic of,
384; fleet of, defeats Venetians,
384 ; attack on, by Lombards, 384 ;
surrender of, 385 ; ceases to exist
as a free Commune, 385 : earliest
example of a Commune resigning
its liberty, 380 ; rule of Salinguerra
and Estensi in, 380 ; Satinguerra's
rule in, rests on lower orders, 381 ;
rule of Azzo VII. of Este in, 381 ;
Obizso of Este elected lord, 383 ;
lordship of, left to grandson of
Azzo VIII. of Este, 394 ; general
attack on, 395 ; seizure of, by lord
of Ravenna, 395 ; by the Venetians,
395 ; by the Papal army, 396 ;
handed over to King Rol)ert of
Naples, 396; oppression of, 415;
revolt in, 415 ; Estensi recalled to,
4x5 ; Estensi made vicars of by
Pope, 448 ; siege of, by Cardinal de
Poiet, 456 ; defeat of Cardinal at,
456

Ferretto of Vioenza, 306, 439

Fieschi, family of, 394; Sinibaldo
dei, chosen Pope, 394, 303

Fisiraga, party of, in Lodi, 348;
Antonio, rules Lodi, 387 ; submits
to Henry VII., 400; seizes Lodi,
409 ; capture of, 409 ; imprisoned
till his death, 409

Florence, contado of, 49; warfare
of, witti nobles, 49 ; frees its serfs,
170 : franchise in, 185 ; number of
full burghers in, 185 ; chief guilds
in, 186 ; governing body in, 189 ;
Priors of the Arts in, 190 ; feuds in,
191 ; remains of towers in, 193 ;
leading Ghibellines of, 198; tro-
phies from, in Cathedral ol Siena,
335; dissensions in, 399; goes
over to Ghibellines, 399; exiles
from, 347 ; " Ordinances of Jus-
tice " in, 355 ; hostile to Henry VII.,
405 ; nobles permanently kept
under in, 441

Fodero, no, 155

Fodrum, see Fodero

Fogliani, family of, joins Guelfs,
301, 337 : leading Guelfs of Reg-
gio, 348, 440 ; origin of fend of,

476

INDEX

with Seni, 441 ; join Ohibdtioet,
449 ; Reggio sold to, 457 ; mr-
render dty, 459

Fontana, Guell family of Piaoena,
460

Porll, joint Lombard League, 136 ;
on tide of BartMurotaa, 145 ; on side
of Barbarossa at trace of Venice,
153 ; salary of Podesti in, 188
supports Ft«derick 11^ 364
forced to submit to Pftenza, ^65
designs of Bologna on. 359 ; great
victory of, over Bologna, 360

PorlimpopoK, sides with Frede-
ric IL, 364 ; forced to submit to
Paensa, 365 ; joins Goelfs, 306

Possalta, battle of, 306

Franciscans act as peacemakers, 955,

343

Pranconian Emperors, 65, 92, 99^ 193

Pranks, the, conquer the LomkMuds,
36 ; oblige all freemen to serve in
war, 46

Pratta, capture of, 231 ; massacre at,
246

Frederick of Austria, competitor for
Empire, 417 ; made lord of Tre-
viso, 430 ; and of Padua, 430

Frederick of Hc^enataufen, Duke of
Swabia, 91 ; makes war on Lothair
of Saxony, 93, 193

Frederick L, Barbarossa, 92 ; diosen
Emperor, 99 ; enters Italy, loi ;
bums Asti and Chieri, 102 ; be-
sieges Tortona, 103 ; crowned at
Pavia, 104; crowned at Rome,
105; leaves Italy, 104; re-enters
Italy, 106 ; retmilds Lodi, 106 ; be-
sieges Milan, 107 ; Milan submits
to, 109; holds a Diet at Ron-
caglia, III ; plans for government
of Italy, hi; new quarrel with
Milan, 114 ; besieges Crema, 116 ;
clemency of, 117 ; sets up an Anti-
pope, 119; excommunicated, 119 ;
Milan surrenders to, 122 ; returns
to Germany, 124 ; revisits Italy,
125 ; enemies of, 126 ; detained in
Germany, 128 ; re-enters Italy with
a great army, 129 ; attacks Anoona,
133 ; takes Rome, 134 ; his army

destroyed by pestileiicje, 134 ; flies
from Lomtnrdy, 136; returns to
Italy, 142 ; besieges Alessandria,
143; negotiates with Lombards,
145 ; defeat of, at Le^nano^ 148 ;
makes peace with Pope, 149;
meeting cf, with Pope at Venice,
152 ; partisans of, 153 ; makes
peace with Lombards, 155 ; re-
visits Lombardy, 158; death of,
158 ; grants of, to Milanese, 160

Frederick II., attacked by Otfao,
216 ; set up as Emperor, 216 ; par-
tisans of, 217 ; passage of, across
Lombardy, 218; re-enters Italy,
232 ; coronation of, 233 ; character
of, 234; religion of, 236; turns
back from Crusade, 241 ; excom-
munication of, 241 ; lands in Pales-
tine, 243 ; is reconciled with Pope,
344; marriage of, 360; invades

\ Lomtnrdy, 263; allies of, 264;
army of, 370 ; tactics of, 371 ;

\ defeats Milanese at Cortenuova,
373 ; lays siege to Brescia, 376 ;
failure of, at Brescia, 377 ; excom-
municated, 378 ; besieges Faenza,

t 387 ; clemency of, 388 ; mardies
on Rome, 389 ; retires owing to
death of Pope, 390 ; t>esieges Vi-
torbo, 395 ; negotiates with Inno-
cent IV., 396 ; deposed by Council
of Lyons, 398 ; position of his party
in Italy, 399 ; lays siege to Parma,
303 ; buikis Vittoria,304 ; his army
routed at Parma, 305 ; death of,
308; concessions of, to German
feudatories, 309 ; Imperial autho-
rity in Italy ends with death of,

309
Frignano, 176; revolt of, from

Modena, 177; Captains of, and

Modena, 178
Friuli, Markgravate of, 53 ; grant of,

to Patriarchs of Aquileia, 53

Galvanus Flamma, 180

Gauls, the, 33

Genoa, resists the Lombard League,

INDEX

477

140 ; feuds in, 191 ; height of
towers in, limited, 192 ; assists
Frederick II., 316; at war with
Alessandria and four other cities,
337 ; declares against Frederick II.,
280 ; engages to carry bishops to
Council at Rome, 288 ; great defeat
of, by Pisans, 289 ; attack on, by
Frederick II., 291 ; courage of
people of, 291 ; their letter to the
Pope, 291 ; their fleet, 292 ; attack
on hart>our of, 292 ; silver arrows
shot into harbour of, 292 ; fleet of,
helps Pope to escape from Italy,
296 ; party names in, 349 ; siege of,
by Ghibellines, 417; blockade of
port of, 418

Geremei, leading Guelfs of Bologna,
348 ; Bonifazio dei, 357 ; partisans
of the Pope, 358 ; wish to attack
Porli, 359 ; expel Ghibellines, 359

Ghibellines, supposed origin of
name, 96; Itsilianised form of
Waiblingen, 193 ; when brought
into Italy, 195 ; principles of, 196 ;
leading Florentine partisans of,
198 ; party of the nobles in Milan
and Brescia, 199 ; party of the
popolo in Pavia, Piaoenza, &&,
200 ; allied with Pope, 218 ; sup-
porters of House of Hohenstaufen,
314 ; union of, with Guelfs against
Ezzelino, 322 ; Milanese allied with
Pope, 335 ; masters of Tuscany,
337 ; cities of, in Lombardy, 338 ;
sole partisans of, in Lombardy,
340; distinctive marks of, 348;
local names for, 349 ; feudal lords
partisans of, 350 ; head of, in Lom-
bardy, 364 ; make William of
Montferrat their war-captain, 369 ;
accusations of, against Henry VII.,
402 ; become party of despots, 408 ;
ability of leaders of, 411 ; party of,
predominant in Lombardy, 415;
measures of King Robert and the
Pope against, 418 ; successes of,
418 ; urge Louis of Bavaria to visit
Italy, 445 ; disapprove of his pro-
ceedings, 448 ; alliance of leaders
of, against John of Bohemia, 453 ;

they draw up a plan of partition of
the free cities, 454

Ghiberto da Gente, 314; expelled
from Parma, 337 ; rule of, in
Parma, 337 ; Captain of the People
and Podesta of the Merchants, 353 ;
his rule in Parma and Reggio, 382

Giglio, t>attle near, 289

Giotto, 423

Giovanni, Frii, of Schio^ 256 ; pacifies
the Mark, 257 ; downfall of, 258 ;
reappears, 319 -—

Godfrey made Archbishop of Milan
by Emperor, 68 ; besieged in Cas-
tiglione, 69

Gonzaga, Ludovioo, 351 ; family of,
conspire agabist Bonacoolsi, 446;
Luigi becomes lord of Mantua,
447 ; his descendants rule Mantua,
447 ; obtains Reggio, 459

Grassoni, family of, 441

Grasulfi, name of Ghibellines of
Modena, 344, 441 ; form league
with Aigoni, 441

Gravedona, see Trepievi

Gregory VII. (Hildebrand) becomes
Pope, 66 ; decrees of, on marriaige
of clergy and Investitures, 70;
triumph of his policy, 71

Griffi, party name in Brescia, 345

Grossulan, Archbishop of Milan, 76

Guastalla attacks Como, 87, 212 ; loss
of, by Cremona, 394

Guelf, House of, 54, 147; Italian
form of Welf, 194 ; introduction of
name into Italy, 194; denotes a
supporter of the Church, 196

Guelfs, principles upheld by, 197;
gather at Parma, 303; in oppo-
sition to Pope, 322, 335 ; Milanese
allied to Lombard Ghil)elline8,
335 ; league of, supreme in Lom-
bardy, 340; moderates among,
expelled from Modena, 344 ; dis-
tinctive marks of, 348 ; local names
for, 349 ; supported by popolo,
349. 355 ; union of, destroyed, 373 J
supreme in Central Lombardy,
389 ; leaders of, will not oppose
Henry VII., 399; accusations of,
against Henry VII., 402 ; party of

478

XBTDBX

Uberty alter deatb of Henry VII.,
408 ; cities on aide of, 411 ; cause
of, revived by action of Pope, 416 ;
to be pot down by Pope and King
John of Bohemia, 453 ; league of,
with Gfaibelline lords against John,
453
Gttido^ appointed Arcfabidiop of
Milan by Emperor, 66 ; opposition
to, 67 ; defeats Pavia, 68 ; driven
from Milan, 68 ; resigns his see,
68; imprisonment and death of,

Hasta,33

Henry II., chosen Qerman king,
55 ; . invades Lombardy, 55 ; his
soldiers destroy Pavia, 56 ; death
<rf.58

Henry Hi., promises hdp to Lan-
sone,64

Henry IV. quarrels with the Pope,
70 ; hmniliation of, at Canossa, 71 ;
opposed by Milan and three other
cities, 73 ; death of, 73

Henry V., attitude of Lombards
towards, 73 ; bums Novara, 76 ;
sets up an Antipope, 84 ; recon-
dUation of, with Church, 91 ; death
of, 91

Henry VI., 157, 163; conquers
Norman dominions, 163 ; death ol,
163 ; civil war on death of, 194

Henry VIII., Count of Luxemburg,
diosen Emperor, 399 ; sends envoys
to Italy, 399; crosses the Alps,
399 ; hisarmy,399 ; restores exiles,
400 ; sets iq> Imperial Vicars, 400 ;
obtains possession of Milan, 401 ;
forces despots to resign, 401 ; failure
of his efforts to be impartiad, 403 ;
revolts against, 403 ; besieges Bres-
cia, 404 ; failure of his designs, 405 ;
leaves Lombardy, 406 ; death of,
406 ; net results of his enterprise,
407

Henry the Lion, 118 ; revolt of, 147

Henry the Proud, 193

Herlembald, leader of Papal party
in Milan, 68 ; master of Milan, 68 ;
defeated and slain, 69

Hildebnnd, su Gregory VIL

Hohenstanfen, Fted(erk± of, 91;

Philip of, 97; Cooiad of, ^;

House of, 193 : FhOip of, 194;

quarrel of Hosne of, witt WOl

195 ; quarrel of, with Papacy, 196 ;

enemies of, 317 ; suppocten d,

314; warfare of Popes against,

336
Honorius the Binperar tiausfgs fail

tesldeooe frcnn Milan to Rascnca,

30
Hungarians ravage Italy, 46 ; nns-

sacre inhabitaais of Pavia, ^

Imola position of, 37 ; jeans Lom-
tnrd League, 156 ; eadndcd from
Peace of Constance, 156 ; gates ot,
carried off by Bologna, 234; al^;
of Faenza, 364 ; joins Gnelfs, 306

Insubrian Gauls, 34, 29

Intra, 164

Isola Comacina resists Lombards,
35 ; position of, 86 ; attacks Como,
87 ; fleet of, 87 ; sacked by C(»no,
88, 89 ; finally destroyed by Como,
140

Isonzo, R., 33

Ivrea, position of, 36 ; maikgrafs
of, 41 ; Berengar of, 50 ; founds
Castelfrancok 169; on side of
Frederick II., 313 ; William d
Montferrat, lord of, 368 ;a
of, to Montferrat, 461

Jaoopo deiBnasoiari, F^ <
Pavia to resist Visconti, 463 ; his
influence, 463 ; makes terms for
the dty, 464 ; fate of, 464

John, King of Bohemia, called to help
of Bresda, 451 ; rJiaracter of, 452 ;
made lord of Brescia,453 ; staitUng
success of, 453; interview with
Cardinal de Poiet, 453 ; supposed
designs of, 453 ; league of Ghi-
bellines and Gnelfs against, 453 ;
dispieases the Lombards, 453;
leaves Italy, 453 ; hb son Cbadcs

INDEX

47»

455 ; four cities loyal to himi455 ;
returns to Italy, 456 ; wearies of
his enterprise, 457 ; sells the cities,
457 ; death of, at Crecy, 457
Jordan, Archbishop of Milan, 76
Julian, reforms constitution of Verona,
352

Lambertazzi, 348 ; leading Ghibel-
lines of Bologna, 348 ; Imelda dei,
357 ; feud of, with Geremei, 356,
358 ; wish to attack Modena, 359 ;
attack Geremei, 359 ; expelled, 359 ;
victory of, 374; recover influence
in dty, 393; final expulsion of,

394

Landa, Marquis, 375, 302, 314;
Podesta of Milan, 332, 367

Landi, noble family of Piacenza, 308 ;
head of Ghibellines in Piacenza,
349, 411 ; restored, 412 ; Verzusio
head of family, 435 ; expels Visconti
from Piacenza, 435 ; is himself ex-
pelled, 436 ; leads Guelf army, 444

Lsuidulph, leader of Papal party in
Milan, 67 ; killed m Piacenza, 68

Landulph the Younger, 96, 204

t«angusco, Count of, heads Guelf
nobles of Pavia, 349 ; seizes dty,
371 ; ruler of Pavia, 373, ^«3, 386 ;
Count Filippone of, 389; expels
Ghibellines, 408 ; captured and
imprisoned, 412 ; Ricciardo, his «on
and sucoessoc. slain, 413

Lanzavecchia, leaders of Ghibellines
in Alessandria, 368, 369, 413

Lanzone, leader of popular party in
Milan, 63 ; appeals to German king
for hdp, 64 ; padfies Milan, 64

Laus Pompda, andent name of Lodi,

Lecco, county of, 73 ; fleet of, attacks
Como, 89 ; grant of, to Milan, 160 ;
revolt of, from Milan, 281

Legnano, battle of, 148

Leo, quotation from, 55 ; views of, as
to attitude of House of Romano
towards factions, 247 ; views of, as
to character of Ezzelino, 326

Liguria, feudal lords of, 25 ; province

of, 31 ; war on coast of, 292 ; war
in, 292 ; character of inhabitants of,

294
Lodi, position of, 24 ; grant to Bishop
of, 43; grant of rights over, to
Archbishop of Milan, 59 ; war of,
with Milan, 59 ; league of, with
Milan against Henry IV., 72 ; allied
with Pavia, 75; factions in, 75;
destruction of, by Milanese, 76;
liberty of, decreed by Barbarossa,
100; villages of, desfaroyed by
Milanese, 106 ; rebuilt on new site,
106; besieged by the Lombard
League, 133 ; joins the League,
133 ; assembly sununoned by Otho
to, 216 ; submits to Frederick II.,
273 ; factions in, 313 ; Sncdo dei
Vistarini obtains power in, 3x3;
alliance of, with Milan, 313 ; comes
under della Torre, 333 ; rival
families in, 348 ; Guelfs seize Lodi,
364 ; war in Lombardy centres
round, 366 ; rule of Vistarini in,
383 ; Antonio Fisiraga, lord of,
387 ; revolt of, from Henry VII.,
403 ; taken by Fisiraga, 409 ; under
Vistarini, 415 ; downfall of Vistarini
in, 446 ; ruled by Tremaooldo, 451;
added to dominions of Visconti,

459

Loggia, 80

Lomt^ard League, origin of, 127 ;
foundation of, 130, 131 ; rebuilds
Milan, 131 ; members of, 136 ;
objects of, 137 ; constitution of, 137 ;
builds Alessandria, 138 ; members
of, 140; negotiations of, with
Emperor, 150 ; members of, 153 ;
real nature of, 159 ; renewal of, by
eleven dties, 163 ; revival of, 339 ;
objects of second, 240 ; results of,
disastrous for Communes, 309

Lomlnrd Street, 182, 229

Lombards, The, settlement of, in
Italy, 19 ; invasion of, 35 ; kingdom
of, conquered by Charlemagne, 36 ;
treatment of Roman population by,
38 ; name used to denote country
landowners, 39 ; residences of, 39;
setup Dukes in the dties, 40; forbid

480

INDEX

the Italians to use arms, 45 ; destroy
fortifications of dties, 46

Lombards, banking business of, 182 ;
name equivalent to usurer, 182 ;
hostility of, to Frederick 11., 235,
240 ; excommunicated by Pope, 240

Lombardy, extent of, 19; modem
limits <k, 20; conflict between
captains and Valvassors in, 60 ;
religious quarrels in, 67 ; ^euds of»
94 ; imperial authori^ in, 124 ;
condition of, 128 ; revolt of, 130 ;
feudal lords of, conquered by cities,
139 ; warfare in, 163 ; position of
nobles in, 173 ; divided into two
factions, 195 ; chronicles of, 204 ;
peace in, 223 ; physical features of,
225 ; monasteries of, 226 ; prosperity
of, 226 ; tradeof,228 ; woollen and
siUc manufactures of, 229 ; hanking
in, 229 ; humanity of warfare in,
229 ; misery in, 293 ; position of
Frederick II. in, 299; divided by
Guelf and Ghibelline factions, 310 ;
parties in, 336 ; march of army of
Charles of Anjou across, 337 ; Guelfs
supreme in, 340 ; meaning of Guelf
and Ghibelline in, 365 ; parties m,
365 ; rulers of, 373 ; condition of,
between 1290-1300 a.d., 386 ; Iron
Crown of, 401 ; disappearance of
republican institutions from, 407 ;
state of parties in, 416 ; liberty
almost extinct in, 450 ; condition
of cities in, 450 ; enthusiastic re-
ception of King John of Bohemia
in, 452 ; league of despots of, against
him, 453

Lomello, Counts of, 73, 153, 172, 248

Lothair of Saxony, chosen Emperor,
92 ; si^>ported by Pope, 96 ; visits
Italy, 96 ; besieges Orema, 96 ;
crowned at Rome, 96 ; captures
Piacenza, 97 ; death of, 97, 193

Lothair of Supplinburg, see Lothair of
Saxony

Louis of Bavaria, competitor for
Empire, 417 ; obtains empire, 430 ;
takes Visconti under his protec-
tion, 438; excommunicated, 444;
crowned at Milan, 445 ; imprisons

the Visconti, 445 ; crovied M
Rome, 445 ; condnct of, ia Inly,
447 ; quarrels with his sopporttn.
447 ; releases Visconti, 447 ; u^
Milan to Azzo Visoooti, 447 ; sets
up an Anti-pope, 448 ; attaJs
Milan, 449 ; withdraws south d
the Po, 449 ; giarrisons BmHiJi
cities, 450 ; leaves Italy 450
Louis the Pioos, the Emperor, 43
Lucca, Towers of, 80 ; hostile to PisL
299; King John made laid <^ 452;
sold to Rossi, 457 ; sorrendered so
Scaligers, 458
Lugano^ Lake of, 88 ; reioks fros
Como, 89 ; conquests of Milan, near,

Lupi, family of, joins Guelfs 301 ;

captured and hanged, 317, 372
Lupidni, family of, joins Guelfs, 501
Lyons, Council of, 297 ; FmedencklL

deposed by Council of, 298

Maestri Comadni 86
Maggi, among leading Guelfs of
Brescia, 345 ; become Ghibelliiie,

345
Maggi, Bishop, given lordship of

Bresda, 345 ; favours Ghibelliocs,

387; good government of, 388;

Matteo, lord of Brescia, 404
Maggiore, Lake, Small cammmics <»,

164 ; war on, 363
Mala Morte, batUe of, 162
Malaspina, Marquis Obizzo, 135;

Oberto, 136 ; lands of, 173, 291
Malesardi, party name in Bresda.

299 ; side with Frederick 11^ 321 ;

join Ezzelino, 321 ; party name in

Milan, 349
Malta, prison of, 319
Manfred, son of Frederick 11., 314,

322, 330; King <rf Naples, 336;

defeat and death of, 338
Manfredi, Guelf family of R^gio^

440,449
Mangona, Adelaide of, wife of Ezze*

lino 11^ 268 ; prophecy <rf, 326 ; her

kinsmen, the counts of, 3^28

INDEX

481

Mantua, Etruscan ori^n of» 22 ; posi-
tion of, 34 ; acquired by Albert
Azsoof Cauiossa, 53 ; towers of, 80 ;
fights Verona, Modcaia, Reggio, 83 ;
enemy of Brescia, 93 ; people of,
cut off the noses of 3,000 Veronese,
97 ; joins the Lombard League,
130; popular party in, supports
Ghibellines, p. 200; extends its
power, 313 ; war of, with Reggio,
313 ; allies of, 313 ; extends its
territories south of Po, 235; Palazzo
della Ragione at, 337 ; attacked by
Frederick II., 365 ; submits to
Frederick II., 369; revolts from
him, 383 ; atrocities in, 346 ; popular
party in, Ghibelline, 350 ; vicissitudes
off 350 ; 'our facti(Mis in, 351 ; Gnelf
aristocracy of, destroyed, 351 ; Bon-
acoolsi made despot of,by the people,
351 ; rule of Bonacoolsi in, 383 ;
fleet of, destroyed, 394 ; exiles re-
stored to, by Henry VII., 403;
Bonacoolsi made Imperial Vicars
of, 409 ; Gonzuga seize rule of, 446

Marcharia, Count of, expelled from
Mantua, 351

Marchessella, Gugliehno, 141, 3ii ;
his niece, 311

Mari, Ansehno de', Admiral of Frede-
rick II.'s fleet, 391, 393

Markgraf , 41

Markgraf of Ivrea, 50, 55

Markgrafs of Turin, 53 ; of Mont-
ferrat, 53 ; of Verona, 53 ;^of Tus-
cany, 53

Markgravates, 51 ; of Ivrea, 51 ; of
Friuli, 52

Marostica, 346

Martesana, county of, 60, 73, 108, 113 ;
Count of, 120 ; lords of, 135, 156 ;
grant of, to Milan, 160

Matilda, the '' Great Countess," 54 ;
supports Pope, 71 ; inheritance of,
US, 151, 315, 216, 334

Manrisio, Ghenurdo, 306, 353,366,315

Mediolanum, 33 ; former name of
Milan, 34

Melano, 89

Menaggio, revolts from Como, 86 ;
plundered by Como, 89

Milan, position of, 34 ; residence of
Emperors of the West, 30; plun-
dered by Attila, 33 ; rased to the
ground by the Goths, 34 ; corona-
tion of Otho I. at, 51 ; Roman capi-
tal of North Italy, 57 ; coomiand of
trade routes by, 57 ; rivalry of, with
Pa via, 58; population of, in eleventh
century, i/^ ; Archbishop of, 58 ;
people of, attack Emperor Conrad,
61 ; factions hi, 63 ; nobles expelled
from, 63 ; beginning of republican
institutions in, 64 ; religious quar-
rels in, 66 ; at war with Cremona,
Lodi, and Pavia, 75 ; conquers Lodi,
76 ; great assembly at, 76 ; consuls
of, 78 ; election of consuls in, 81 ;
ten years' war of, with Como, 85 ;
allies of, against Como, 87; war-
ships of, 89 ; allies of, 90 ; conquers
Como, 91 ; enemies of, 93 ; allies
of, 93 \ receives Conrad III., 93;
submits to Lothair, 97 ; defeated
by Pavia, 97 ; defeats Cremona,
98 ; Carrocdo of captured by
Cremonese, 98 ; destroys small
towns, 98 ; ordered to liberate Lodi
by Barbaroesa, 100 ; defeat of, by
F^via, loi ; accusations of cities
against, xox ; endeavours to bribe
Barbarossa, 103 ; Barbarossa de-
stroys castles of, 103 ; rights and
privileges of, conferred on Cremona
by Barbarossa, 105 ; attacks Novara
and Pavia, 105 ; preparations for
defence against the Emperor, 105 ;
destroys villages of Lodi, 106:
allies of, 106; besieged by Bar-
barossa, 107 ; negotiates peace with
the Imperial Army, 108 ; terms of
peace, 108 ; submission (rf the dty
to the Empire, 109 ; hostilities re-
commence with Barbarossa, 114;
attacks Lodi, 115 ; becomes allied
with the Holy See, 116 ; again
besieged by Barbarossa, I3i ; sur-
renders unconditionally, I3i ; de-
stroyed by Barbarossa, 133 ; joins
the Lombard league, 130 ; rebuilt
by the League, 131 ; defeats Bar-
barossa at battle of Legnano, 148 ;

482

INDEX

TtodvtB favours from Barbaroesa,
i6o ; attacked by Cremona and
allies, 163 ; makes peace with Como
and Cremona, 163 ; gives jurisdic-
tion over the Cootado, 172 ; mode
oi electing consols in, 180; four
parties in, 183 ; salary of Podesta
in, 188 ; hostility of, to House of
H<rfienstaafen, 194, 195; sapports
Goelfs, 198 ; traditional hostility to
Empire in, 199 » nobles of, t)ecome
Ghibelline, 199 ; historians of, 204 ;
opposes Pope Innocent, Frederick
of Hohenstaufen, 217 ; allies of, 217 ;
construction of Naviglio Grande at,
226 ; Broletto of, 227 ; statistics of,
227 ; manufactures of, 228 ; hos-
tility of, to Frederick 11^ 233 ; fends
in, 237 ; associations in, 238 ;
several Podestas in, 238 ; civil war
in, 238 ; offices in, shared between
nobles and people, 238 ; Archbishop
of, chosen from nobility, 238 ; recog-
nises Henry, son of Frederick H.,
as Emperor, 259 ; League renewed
by, with ten other cities, 260 ; allies
and opponents of, 264; forces of,
270 ; great defeat of, at Cortenuova,
272 ; fate of Carrocdo of, 272 ; out-
burst of despair in, 273 ; determines
to resist, 274 ; army of, 282 ; dis-
cord in, 289 ; defeat of, by Pavia,
289 ; battle fought by, against King
Enzio, 298 ; dissensions in, 313 ;
nobles of lean towards Ghlbellines,
313 ; Marquis Lancia made Podesta
of, 314 ; zeal of, for Papal cause
cools, 314 ; attempt of Ezzelino on,
223; the wails manned against
him, 324 : at peace with her neigh-
bours, 330 ; quarrels between
nobles and people in, 332 ; position
of della Torre in, 333 ; vicissitudes
of struggle in, 333; nobles join
Ezzelino, 333 ; nobles openly side
with Ghibellines, 333 ; della Torre
virtual ruler of, 333 ; Pelavidni
proclaimed Captain-General of,
334 ; heretics in, 334 ; exclusion of
Pelavidni from, 335 ; quarrel over
election of Archbishop in, 335 ; new

Archbishop. Otto Visoonti^ a-
clud«d from, 535 ; interdict on, 335 ;
lordship of » conferred on Cfaaites of
Anjon, 336 ; oomparatfve stafaOur
of parties in, 343 ; outrage d
soldiers of, on cross in Crcna,$4S:
factions of follow della Torre sad
Visconti, 34S ; party names ia,
349 ; Napoleone deBa Tone made
Imperial Vicar oi^ 362 ; war ia
Contado of, 363 ; deQa Tone ex-
pelled from, 363: Otto Visooati
chosen as lord of, 3J64 ; Ghibd&ies
xDsaktxs of, 364 ; peace of, wiA
Bresda, Cremana, and PSaoenza,
366 ; rule of William of Mootfetn^
in, 369 ; his troops expelled book,
370 ; war <rf, with Como and Moct-
ferrat, 371 ; alfies of, 371 ;nko(
Otto ^sconti in, 383 ; Vtsoocti
driven from, 389 ; Torriani retani
to, 389 ; Guido della Torre made
lord of, 396 ; inhabitants of,we!oooie
Henry VII^ 400 ; lordship <tf, givca
to Henry Vf I^ 400 ; factions ia.
padfied by Henry VII^ 401 ; fer-
ment in, 402; Torxiani e^Mikd
from, ^0$ ; Viscond left mastersof.
403 ; Matteo Visconti elected ioni
of, 417 ; Galeazzo Visconti e^)elled
from, 436 ; recall of, to, 436 ; fkge
of, 437 ; relief of, by troops of Louis
of Bavaria, 438 ; Louis of Bavaria
crowned in, 445 ; 'S^soonti deprived
of power in, 445 ; repuUic set up
in, 445 ; title of Vicar o£, sold to
Visconti, 448 ; rule of Visoood ,
permanently established in, 448;
attach on, by Louis of Bavaria, 499 j

Milites, meaning of, 47 ; persons
counted as, 48 ; equivalent to Nb>
Inles, 81 : qualifications of, in Ve-
rona, 8x : grow into a caste, 82,
180 ; leave Piacenza, 238

Mindo, river, 22

If irandola, Francesco Pico, lord of,
442; hands Modena over to BoiBC-
colsi, 442 ; starved to death, 443 ;
Niccolo dedla starves Bonacoola (o
death, 446; lordship of, retained
by Pichi, 460

INDEX

483

Modena, position of, 25 ; grant to
Bishop of y 43 ; county of, granted
to Albert Azzo of Canossa, 53 ;
attacks Mantna, 83 ; enemy of
Bologna, 94 ; allies of, 94 ; attacks
Frignano, 176 ; quarrels with Bo-
logna over Frignano, 177; grants
privileges to captains of Frignano,
178 ; tongue of Podesta of, torn
out, 189 ; towers of, levelled, 192 ;
supports GhibellJnes, 198 ; at war
with Reggio, 202, 203 ; permanent
rivalry of, with Bologna, 210;
preserves bucket captured from
Bologna, 224 ; cathedral of, 227 ;
attacked by Bologna and fifteen
other cities, 242 ; allies of, 242 ;
great victory of, 242 ; again at-
tacked, 243 ; new victory of, 243 ;
law schools of, 303 ; war of, with
Bologna, 306 ; rise of, Guelf faction
in, 306 ; defeat of, at Fossalta, 306 ;
siege of, 307 ; forced to make peace
and join Guelfs, 307 ; Ghil>ellines
expelled from, 336 ; mountains in
contadoof , held by Ghibelline exiles,
344 ; split among Guelf nobles of,
344 ; moderate Guelfs of, expelled,
344 ; they join Ghibellines,344 ; sub-
mission of, to Marquis of Este, 344 ;
Ghibelline exiles of, put to death,
347 ; party names in, 349 ; popolo
becomes ruling element in, 357 ;
rule of Estensi in, 383 ; revolt of,
from Estensi, 392 ; rejoicings in,
393 ; Guelfs fly from, 410 ; Bonac-
colsi made lord of, 410 ; most
turbulent of Lombard cities, 441 ;
three factions in, 441 ; vicissitudes
of, 441 ; Bonaccolsi expelled from,
442 ; Francisco Pico, lord of, 442 ;
Bonaccolsi again Lord of, 442 ; war
of, with Bologna, 443 ; Bonaccolsi
expelled from, 444 ; peace in, 444 ;
rejoicings in, on approach of Em-
peror, 450 ; still free, 451 ; King
John made lord .of, 452 ; assigned
by league of despots to Estensi,
454 ; bravery of infantry of, 456 ;
great victory of, 456 ; surrender of,
to Estensi, 459

Mondovi, 164, 387, 397
Mongols, invasion of, 290
Monselice, 267, 319, 429, 430
Montagnana, 278, 292, 429
Montecchi, Shakespeare's Montagues,
210 ; feud of, with Count of San
Bonifazio, 210 ; seize Verona, 212 ;
expelled, 213 ; allied to, merchants,
248; put to death by Ezzelino,
316
Monte Veglio, battle of, 443
Montferrat, hills of, 21 ; feudal lords
of, 21, 22 ; Markgrafs of, 52 ;
Marquis of, 74 ; complains of ag-
gressions of Chieri and Asti to Bar-
barossa, loi ; forced to join the
Lombard League, 139 ; Marquises
of, remain independent of the
cities, 172 ; Marquis of, on side of
Frederick II., 218 ; revolt of, from,
259 ; submits to Frederick II., 274 ;
attacks Genoa, 291 ; abandons
cause of Frederick IL,292 ; rejoins
his side, 298 ; takes Turin, 305 ;
Marquis William of, sides with
Charles of Anjou, 337 ; goes over
to Ghit>ellines, 362 ; head of the
Ghil)elline party, 364 ; cities sub-
ject to, 364; lord of Milan,
366 ; career of, 366 ; power of
house of, 367 ; connection of, with
the £ast, 367 ; designs of Marquis
William of» 368 ; acquisitions of,
368; .Otto Visconti makes him
supreme in Milan, 369 ; expulsion
of, from Milan, 370 ; war of, with
Visconti, 371 ; subjects and allies
of, 371 ; made Signore of Pavia,
372 ; captured by people of Ales-
sandria, 372 ; imprisonment of, in
a cage, and death of, 372 ; Marquis
Giovanni of, forms league against
Visconti, 373 ; successes of, 373 ;
acquisition of Casale, Ivrea, Va-
lenxa, and Asti, by Marquises of,
461 ; Marquis of, joins league
against Visconti, 462 ; made lord
of Pavia, 463 ; helps final struggles
of Pavia, 463 ; mercenaries desert
from, 464
Monti Euganei, position of, 21, 25 ;

484

INDEX

poeaesnonsof the House oi Este in,

206,287
MoQvelio, 153, 164
Monia, cUimt ol, re comaabaa oere-

mooy, 5z ; ConnKl III. crowned at,

95 ; repnbe of £zzelino £1001,324 ;

seized by Guelfs, 436 ; captured by

Goetf amy, 437 ; retaken by Vis-

conti,438
Morena, Otho, Z07
Morena, Aoerbos, X07, 128, 129, 135
Motta, faction of, in Milan, 183, 33^
Mosaato, 206, 424, 4J6, 428

N
Naples, see Sicily
Nar8es,34
Nizza, 164

Nobiles, meaning of, 81 ; exdnsion
of, from power, 354 ; laws against,

355

Normans, monarchy of, 1x5 ; aid
Alezander III., 128 ; dominions of,
conquered by Henry VI., 162

Novara, position of, 24 ; bnmed by
Henry V., 76 ; hostile to Blilan, 93 ;
welcomes Barbarossa, 102 ; terri-
tory of, seized by Milan, 105 ; di-
vides Biandrate with Veroelli, 169 ;
becomes an ally of Milan, 203 ;
submits to Frederick 11., 274 ; re-
enters League, 293 ; submits to
Frederick II., 305; again enters
League, 305 ; controlled by Ot)erto
Pelavicini, 334 ; Martino della
Torre chosen Signore of, 334 ;
party names in, 349; Guelfs ex-
pelled from, 362 ; Ghibellines ex-
pelled from, 373 ; factions of, paci-
fied by Henry VII., 400 ; revolt of,
from Henry VII., 408 ; under
Tomielli, 451 ; King John made
lord of, 452 ; seizure of, by Visconti,
455

Oculus Pastorum, 188

Odovacer conquers Italy, 34 ; divides

lands among his followers, 38
Oglio River, 22, 161, 270, 323

Onara, Castle of , 107
Optimates, meaning of V 45
Ordinances of Jnstice^ 355
Osfarogoths invade Italy, 34 ; deriroy
Milan, 34 ; oonqnest of, by Byan-

tine8,34
Otho of Bavaria, 194 ; U«ad of fte

HoQseof Welf, 195 ; £niperar,2i4 ;

pacifies the Mark, 214 ; crowned at

Rome, 215; quarrels wifii ^ipe.

216 ; invades Sootliem Italy, 2^ ;

partisans of, axy ; death ol, 219
Otho of Brunswick, S£€ OOm of

Bavaria
Ottio of Freisingen, 48,74; letter of

Frederick I. to^ xox, 107, 180
Otho of Saxony invades Italy, 51 ;

crowned Einpeiot, 51 ; in 900,51 ;

his grandaoo, 51

Padua, foundation of, 23; positioe
of, 24 ; expels the Inaperial gover-
nor, 127; joins the Lombonl
League, 127 ; defeats ^^oensa,
209; aids Eazelino^ 314; skies
with Otho, 217 ; besides Este,
220; war of, with Veoioe. 232;
tribute of hens sent by, to Vemoe,
222; aspires to leadenhip of
Mark, 245 ; war of, against Eac-
lino, 450; war of, with Ttcnso,
251 ; welcomes Ftk Gkyvamu
of Sdiio, 256; overthrows hii
power in Vicenza, 258 ; attack oo,
by Szzdino, 267 ! ineamres of
defence taken by, 267 ; sunendai
to Ezzelino, 268 ; attempted revolt
of, 277 ; stay of Frederick IL in,
07%; reign of terror in, 286;
prisons in, 294; atrocities of
Eszelino in, 316 ; capture of, b^
crusading army, 31S ; sack of,
319 ; victims of Eazdino released
in, 319 ; eleven thousand burghers
of, put to death by Ezsdino, 330 ;
obtains Bassano^ 330; steadily
Guelf, 350 ; war of, with Estensi,
373 ; conquests of, from Estensi,
374 ; declares against Hency VII.,

INDEX

486

409; state of, 424; democratic
government of, 425 ; pnUic build-
ings of, 425 ; makes war on Can
Grande, 435; seditions in, 425;
demagogues murdered in, 436 ;
attack of, on Vioenza, 436 ; army
of 437 ; rout of, 42S ; forced to sue
for peace, 429 ; despot prodaimed
in, 429 ; siege of, 430 ; lordship of,
given to Frederick of Austria, 430 ;
surrender of, to Can Grande, 431

Pallanza, 164

PaUavidni, set Pelavidni

Panaro River, 21, 22

Paquara, assembly at, 256

Paris, Matthew, 273

Parlamento, 79, 189

Parma, position of, 25; grant to
Bishop of, 43 ; Bishop of, made
ruler of the whole diocese, 44;
fights Cremona and Piacenza, 83 ;
hostility of, to Piacenza, 93 ; allies
of, 94 ; supports Conrad III., 96 ;
fights Piacenza, Cremona, and
Re^gio, 97 ; fights Milan, Piacenza,
and Crema, 98 ; bums Borgo San
Donnino, 98 ; joins the Lombard
League, 132 ; at war with Piacenza,
162 ; guilds in, 182 ; prominence
of butchers in, 186 ; middle classes
of, indifferent to factions, 200;
origin of Guelfs in, 200 ; war with
Piacenza, 202 ; allies of, 202 ; gains
the upper hand, 203 ; Pra Salim-
bene of, 205 ; captured war
machines placed in cathedral
of, 224 ; cathedral of, 227 ; cloth
of, 228 ; rising of trades guilds in,
300 ; relatives of Pope Innocent
IV. in, 300; formation of Guelf
faction in, 301 ; expulsion of Guelf
families from, 301 ; march of exiles
on, 30X ; capture of, by exiles, 302 ;
defection of, from Frederick II.,
302 ; siege of, 302 ; allies of, 303 ;
cruelties at siege of, 303 ; Frederick
builds Vittoria before gates of,
304 ; sally of burghers of, 304 ;
great victory of, 305 ; great defeat
of, by Piacenza and Cremona, 308 ;
Carroodo of, captured, 308 ; peace

of, with Cremona, 314 ; fate of
captives of, 314 ; rule of Ghiberto da
Gente in, 314 ; his expulsion from,
337 ; expulsion of Ghibellines from,
337 ; factions in, at first confined
to nobles, 343 ; popolo of Guelf,
349 ; rise of popolo in, 351 ; first
admission of guilds to power in,
352 ; Captain of the People in, 352 ;
vicissitudes of this office in, 353 ;
government of, passes into hands
of guilds, 353 ; prosperity of, 353 ;
gradual admission of guilds to
power in, 354; disabilities of
Ghibellines and nobles in, 355;
Charles of Anjou made Signore
of, 361 ; leading position of, 365 ;
rule of Ghit)erto da Gente in, 382 ;
revolution in, 390 ; dissensions in,
391; Ghibellines expelled from,
391 ; exiles restored to, 392 ;
Ghiberto da Correggio proclaimed
Signore of, 392 ; Guelfs of, with-
<iraw, 392 ; revolt of, from Henry
VII., 408; under Ghiberto da
Correggio, 411 ; expulsion of da
Correggio from, 414 ; joins Ghibel-
lines, 415; goes over to Guelfs,
435 ; vicissitudes of, 440 ; goes
over to Ghibellines, 449 ; King
John made lord of, 452 ; fight of,
for freedom, 455 ; sale of, to Rossi
by King John, 457 ; surrender of,
to Scaligers, 458
Patavium, richest town in Italy after
Rome, 29 ; destruction of,byAttila,

33
Pavia, position of, 24 ; plundered by
Attila, 33 ; Theodoric leaves the
non-combatants there, 34 ; builds a
palace there, 34 ; last refuge of
Goths in Italy, 34; Henry II.
crowned at, 55 ; destroyed by Ger-
mans, 56 ; capital of the Lombards,
56 ; favourable position of, 56 ;
aristocratic character of, 57 ; popu-
lation of, massacred, 57 ; wealth of,
57 ; wars of, with Milan, 58 ; people
of, destroy royal palace, 58 ; con-
version of, to Imperial cause, 61 ;
people of, defeated by Milanese,

INDfiX

68 ; attacks Tortona, 75 ; defeat of,
by Hiian» 75 ; towers of, 80 ; duel
of, with Milan, 93 ; allies of, 94 ;
supports Lothair, 96 ; defeats Milan,
97 ; captures Milanese camp, loi ;
Barbarossa receives crown of
Lombardy at, 104 ; council con-
voked at, by Barbarossa, 119;
destroys Tortona, 125 ; Barbarossa
assembles an army at, 135 ; forced
to join the Lombard Leagne, 139 ;
resumes allegiance to the Empire,
142 ; congress at, 146 ; given juris-
diction over the contado, 172 ;
towers of, 192; supports Ghibel-
lines, X98; allied to House of
Hohenstaufen, 199 ; popular party
in Ghibelline, 200 ; forced to make
peace with Milan, 203 ; chronicler
of, 205 ; declares for Frederick II.,
217 ; great victory of, over Milan
and five other cities, 220 ; gradual
decline of, 222 ; walls of, 226 ;
Frederick II. enters, 274 ; defeats
Milanese, 289 ; truce of, with
Milan, 293 ; activity of, in attack-
ing Genoa, 293 ; men of, protest
against cruelties of Frederick II.,
304 ; nobles of, become Guelf, 312 ;
makes peace with Milan, 313 ;
under Ot>erto Pelavidni, 334;
nobles of, five times expelled
from, 342 ; Count of Langnsco
heads Guelfs in, 349; Beccheria
heaul popolo in, 349 ; party names
in, 349 ; factions in, 371 ; William
of Montferrat made lord of, 372 ;
under Count of Langusco, 373 ;
steady decline of, 374 ; factions in,
374; bridge of, carried off by
Piacentines, 374; present aspect
of, 375 ; Ghiliellines expelled fh>m,
408 ; Robert of Naples lord of,
411 ; capture of, by Milanese, 413 ;
Beccheria made lords of, 413 ;
King John made lord ol, 452 ;
Beccheria stir up revolt nn, 455 ;
become masters of, 455 ; surrender
of castle of, 456 ; history of Lom-
bardy centres round rivalry l)e-
twcen Milan and, 462 ; prosperity

of, under Beccheria, 462 ; war of,
with Milan, 462 ; infloeaoe of Fii
Jacopo dei Bnssolari in, 462:
Marquis of Montfenat Slgnore (^
463 ; heroism of inhabitants of,
463 ; famine in, 464 ; sorrender
of, 464 ; Visconti became masten

of, 464

Pedemonte, see Piedmont

Pelavidni, Ol>erto, 291, 302, jdB» 314 :
alliance of, with EzzeUoo, 320;
quarrels with him, 322; jota
league against him, 322 ; t>ecooie$
lord of Brescia, 330; refnses to
abandon Manfred, 330 ; leader of
Lombard Gfaibellinea, 331 ; he
career, 331; favoored heretics.
331 ; made Ca4>tain-Geiieral of
Milan, 334 ; dties subject to him,
334 ; shut oat from Milan, 335 ;
ally of Milanese nobles, 335;
opposes Charles of Anjoo, 337;
driven from Brescia, 337; and
from Cremona, 338 ; expelled from
Piacenza, 338; family of, 338;
take name of Pallavidni, 338 ; rule
of Oberto in Breada, 344; cSbes
ruled by, 382

Pepoli Romeo dei, richest man in
Italy, 439 ; Taddieo^ becxxnes Sig-
nore of Bologna, 461

Pergamum, 23

Philip of Hohenstanfen, competitor
for Empire, 202 ; murder of, 214

Philip of Valois invades Italy, 418

Piacenza, position of, 25 ; oonqooed
by Lombards, 35 ; Bi^iop o^ 68 ;
League <rf, with Milan agaiost
Henry IV., 72 ; division of offices
in, 83 ; fights Parma, 9$ ; enemy
of Parma and Pavia, 93 ; ally of
Milan, 93; captured by Lothair,
97; wars of, 97, 98; joins the
Lombard League, 132 ; coogreg
at, 154 ; at war with Parma, 161 ;
conflicts between noUes and
p(^x>lo in, 184; Gfait>elliiies sup-
ported by pop<^o in, 200 ; granted
Borgo San Doimino by Henry VU
202 ; war of, with Parma in con-
sequence, 202; allies oC, 203;

INDEX

487

dissensions between militea and
popolo in, 238 ; final victory of
former, 239 ; factions in, 264 ; ad-
heres to second Lombard League,
264 ; revolt of people in, 308 ;
Guelf nobles leave, 308; joins
Frederick II., 308 ; great victory
of, over Parma, 308 ; abandons
traditional alliance with Milan,
312 ; under Oberto Pelavicini, 314 ;
expulsion of Pelavicini from, 322 ;
recovered by him, 331 ; expulsion
of Pelavicini from, 339 ; on side ol
Guelf s, 340 ; factions in, dependent
on class rivalries, 342 ; contado of,
in power of Ghibelline exiles, 344 ;
rivalry of Scotti and Landi in, 349 ;
party tendencies in, 350; Charles
of Anjou made Signore of, 361 ;
ravages lands of Pavia, 374 ; Alberto
Scotto made Signore of, 384 ; ex-
pulsion of Alberto Sootto from,
391 ; Gnido della Torre lord of,
396 ; expulsion of Ghibellines from,
409 ; restoration of, by Alberto
Scotto, 409 ; vicissitudes of, 411 ;
Galeazzo Visconti made lord of,
412 ; capture of, by Guelfs, 435 ;
lordship of, given to Pope, 436 ;
Ghibellines expelled from, 436;
Guelfs expelled from, 460 ; sur-
render of, to Visconti, 461

Piave River, 22

Piedmont, situation of, 19 ; towns of,
52 ; general war in, 243 ; parties
in, 264 ; cities of, submit to
Frederick II., 274 ; cities of,
Ghibelline, 365 ; confused struggle
in, 397 ; Guelfs hold their own in,
416 ; cities of, preserve liberty
under King Rot>ert, 461 ; his death
ruin of Guelf cause in, 462

Pii, Manfredo, conunands in Modena,
455 ; Modena sold to, 457 ; sur-
render dty to Estensi, 459 ; retain
lordship of Carpi, 460

Pilei put to death by Ezzelino, 316

Pisa, chains of port of, 225 ; treatment
of prisoners of, by Genoese, 230;
fits out fleet to aid Frederick II.,
288 ; great victory of, over Genoa,

289 ; fleet of, attacks Riviera, 292 ;
operations of, 292 ; fleet of, holds
the sea, 292 ; active in cause of
Frederick II., 299; at head of
Tuscan Ghibellines, 337 ; " Hunger
Tower " in, 347

Placentia, 23

Pliny, 30

Po River, 20 ; watershed of, 21 ;
tributaries of, 22

Podesta, institution of, iii ; replaces
Consuls, 186, 187 ; functions of,
187; restrictions on power of,
188 ; dangers of ofiice of, 189 ;
Council of, 189 ; more than one
in some Communes, 190 ; seat of,
in Palace of the Commune, 353

Podesti of the Mercadanza, see
Podesta of the Merchants

Podesta of the Merchants, of Reggio
murdered, 301 ; of Cremona, 334,
352 ; of Verona, 433

Podesta of the People, 352

de Poiet, Cardinal of, 418 ; assembles
army to attack Milan, 435 ; negoti-
ates with a party in Milan, 436 ;
abilities of, 437 ; attacks Modena,
444; Bologna gives herself to,
450; extends his rule over Ro-
magna, 451 ; alleged league of,
with John of Bohemia, 453 ; sup-
ports free dties, 455 ; is defeated
before Ferrara, 456; Romagna
revolts from, 456 ; so does Bologna,

457

Pontremoli, 165; the Rossi recog-
nised as sovereigns of, 458

Ponzino dei Ponzoni, 414, 426 ;
Cremona sold to^ 457 ; surrenders
to Visconti, 458

Pope Leo III. crowns Charlemagne,
36 ; rule of, in Rome, 36 ; Alex-
ander II., 68; Paschal II., 84;
Gelasius II., 84 ; Innocent, 96 ;
Honorius, ^ ; Adrian IV., 115,
118 ; Alexander III., 119 ; meeting
of, with Frederick I. at Venice,
152 ; death of, 154 ; character of,
154 ; Innocent IV., 200 ; Innocent
III., 215 ; death of, 223 ; Honorius
III., 223 ; Honorius III. organises

488

INDEX

a cratade, ^33; death of, 240;
Gregory IX*, 241 ; excommniiicates
FVederick lU 241; dedsioa of,
rv Lombards, 355; attttnde of,
towards Lombards, 260 ; fortitude
of, 383 ; death of, 390; character
of, 390 ; Innocent IV^ election of,
394 ; flies from Satri, 396 ; reaches
Lyons and sommons a General
Coandl, 397 ; retnmsto Italy, 313 ;
death of, 31s ; Aleiander IV.. 31s
35^ ; Gregory X, 361 ; Nicholas
IV., 36s ; Qement V., 399, 411 ;
John XXII., 415 ; under infloence
of Robert of Naples, 417 ; steps of,
m favour of Robert, 417

Popes, donation of Exarchate to»
36; attack simony, 66 ; and the
marriage of the clergy, 67 ; distrust
Frederick 11^ 335 ; and parties of
Lombardy,4i6 ; reside at Ayignon,
417

Popok), meaning of, 45 ; position of,
180 ; increase hi wealth and num-
bers of, 181 ; conflicts of, with
nobles, 183; organisation of, in
guilds, 185 ; Guelfs to some extent
party of, 197 ; growth of power of,
351 ; Palauo del, 353 ; conncfl of,
354

Popok> Minnto, 354

Piaeneste, 30 ; Cardinal of, 364

Priors, see Signoria
Procopins,35
Provence, se« Anjoo

Quattroventi, faction of, 246, 361

Radevicus, 107

Rangoni, family of, jouis Guelfs, 306 ;
in exile, 393

Rani Sire, 107, 304

Ravenna, position of, 37 ; Exarchate
of, 35; Exarchate of, granted to
Popes by Pepin and Ctiarlemagne,
36 ; militia of, 45 ; classes of popu-
lation of, 45; joins Lombard

League, 136; projected diet at,
344 ; supports Frederick 11., 364 ;
revolts from him, 380 ; surrenders
to him, 387 ; changes of side of,
accounted for, 300 ; joins Goelfs,
306 ; rejoins Frtdehdk II., 308 ;
Archbishop of, heads crusade
against Exselino, 317

Raymond of Cordova, General of,
King Robert of Ns4>les, 437 ; takes
Alessandria and Tortona, 437

R^alia, ue Regalian Rights

R^alian Rights, no, xi3, X14, 155

Reggio, position of, 35 ; county of,
granted to Albert Axzo of Canossa,
53 ; attacks If antua, 83 ; allies of,
94 ; enemy of If antua, 94 ; at war
with If odena, 303, 303 ; allies of, in
its war with If antua and If odena,
303 ; dissensions in, 301 ; oppo-
nents of Sessi expelled from, 301 ;
defeat of Mantua and Ferrara by,
303 ; Ghibellines expelled from,
337 ; exiles from, hold mountains
in contado of, 344 ; Guelfs ex-
pelled from, 344 ; Marquis of Este
made lord of, 344 ; rival families
in, 34«; party names in, 349;
popolo becomes ruling element in,
351 ; rule of Estensi in, 383 ;
revolt of, from Estensi, 393 ; revolt
of, from Henry VII., 408 ; under
Ghiberto da Correggio, 3Xi ; re-
ceives a Papal Vicar, 435 ; vicissi-
tudes of, 440 ; goes over to Ghi-
bellines, 449 ; King John made
lord of, 453 ; sale of, to Pogliani,
457; victory of men of, 457;
surrender of, to Scaligers, 459 ;
handed over to Gonzaga, 459;
return of exiles to, 459

Regium, 23

Reno, R., 33

RhadagMsus, invasion of, 33

Rimini, joins Lombard League, 136 ;
submits to Christian of Mainz, 145 ;
supports Frederick II., 364 ; joins
Guelfs, 306

Rivoli, 387

Robert, King of Naples, made lord
of Bresda, 346; obtains Ferrara,

INDEX

489

396; head of the extreme Guelfs,
401 ; dties subject to, 411 ; aims at
sovereignty of Italy, 417 ; sends
troops against Vi8oonti,437 ; Com-
munes of Piedmont, under, 437,
451 ; Brescia under the protection
^> 451 1 joins league against John
of Bohemia, 453 ; loses Asti, 461 :
death of, 461

Roberti, Guelf family of Reggio, 301,
337t 440 ; imprisonment of, 450

Rolandino, 206, 251, 315

Romagna, 29, 92 ; Barbarossa in, 132;
subdued by Christian of Mainz,
145 ; cities of, members of Lom-
bard League, 153 ; feuds in, 217 ;
nine cities of, join in attack on
Modena, 242 ; parties in, 264 ;
obedient to Frederick IL, 288, 299 ;
conquest of, by Bolognese and
Papal legate, 306 ; factions in, con-
fined to nobles, 343 ; brought under
power of Papal legate, 451 ; lords
of, captured before Ferrara, 456 ;
revolt of, from legate, 456

Romano, Alberic of, Podesti of
Vicenza, 250 ; expelled, 251 ; revolt
of serfs of, 251 ; revolts from
Frederick IL, 280 ; comes to help
Parma, 303 ; joins crusade against
Ezzelino, 319 ; opens negotiations
with him, 320 ; makes peace with
him, 320 ; driven from Treviso,
327 ; tyranny of, 327 ; besieged in
San Zenone, 328 ; fate of, 328

Romano, Castle of, 207

Romano, Cunizza of, marriage of,
246 ; her will, 328 ; Dante's refer-
ence to, 329 ; connection of, with
Sordello, 329

Romano, House of, <Migin of, 207 ;
feuds of, 208 ; attitude of, towards
Hohenstanfens, 247 ; extirpation of,
328

Rome, Duchy of, 36 ; classes of popu-
lation in, 45 ; coronation of Emperor
at, 51 ; taken t>y Barbarossa, 134 ;
Barbarossa crowned at, 134 ; pro-
cession of Pope Gregory in, 283 ;
Frederick II. marches on, 289 ;
he withdraws from before, 290;

cardinals fly from, 290 ; hostile to
Frederick IL, 299; ruled by
Bernardo da Polenta, 395
Roncaglia, assembly at, 64 ; Diet
assembled at, by Barbarossa, 109
Rosate, Castle of, 102
Rossi, of Parma, join Guelfs, 301 ;
leave city, 392 ; attack San Vitale,
435 ; rule Parma for six years, 440 ;
changes of party of, 440, 449;
expel Papal garrison from Parma,
449 ; and from Reggio, 449 ; Parma
and Lucca sold to, 457 ; surrender
to Martino della Scala, 458 ; retain
lordship of Pontrem(^ 458
Rovigo, Polesine of, 54, 173, 206, 396
Rudolph of Habsburg, 309, 362, 365
Rusconi, leaders of nobles in Como,
333i 349 ; 861^ Como, 362 ; discord
among, 370; seek protection of
Visconti, 372, 383 ; join league
against Visconti, 389; expelled
from Como, 390; restored by
Henry VIL, 413; expel Vitani,
413 ; made Imperial Vicars, 445 ;
hand Como over to Visconti, 459 ;
retain Bellinzona, 459

Saint Ambrose, 57 ; supposed pri^-
lege granted by, to Milanese clergy,

Salimbene, Fri, 205, 293, 302

Salingnerra, son of Torello, 211 ;
feud of, with Marquis of Este, 2x2 ;
ally of EzzeHno, 212 ; seizes Fer-
rara, 214 ; shares rule of Ferrara,
220 ; grants of Pope Innocent III.
to, 223 ; opposed to Frederick 1 1.,
247 ; joins his party, 267 ; pros-
perity of Ferrara under, 283 ; down-
fall of, 285; rule of, in Ferrara,
380, 381

Saluzzo, Markgraf s of, 52 ; Marquis
of, 373. 408

San Bonifazio, Counts of, 73 ; repre-
sent former Counts of Verona, 206 ;
feud of, with Montecchi, 210 ; Count
Richard of, 246 ; politics of, 248 ;
attempts to seize Verona, 261 ; his

490

INDEX

party esrpelled, 261 ; castle of, be-
sieged, 269 ; Count of, sabmits to
Frederick II., 269 ; revolt of, 281 ;
Castle of, captured and destroyed,
393 ; Leonisio of, 321 ; expelled
from Verona, 330; final expulsion
of, from Verona, 350, 385 ; alienated
from Marquis of Este, 351 ; expelled
from Mantua, 351 ; Vidguerra of,
428

San Cassiano, 140, 145, 147, 156

San Gemignano, 85, 165 ; towers of,
192

San Marino, 165

San Procolo, battle of, 360

San Vitale, family of, joins Guelfs,
301 ; expelled by Da Correggio,
391 ; expelled by Rossi, 435 ; share
rule of Parma with Rossi, 440^ 449

San Zeno, Castle of, last refuge of
Alberic of Romano, 327

Saracens invade Italy, 37 ; of Sicily,
236 ; bowmen, 270, 275 ; of Luoera,
302 ; atrocities of, 294

Sassuolo, Castle of, 344 ; nobles of,
392, 441 ; leave Modena, 441

Savigliano, 164, 369, 397

Savignano, Castle of, 344 ; nobles of,
441 ; leave Modena, 441

Savona, Markgrafs of, 52 ; revolt of,
from Genoa, 291 ; siege of, 292 ;
makes peace with Genoa, 313

Savoy, feudal lords of, 26 ; House of,
52 ; authority of Count of, in Pied-
mont, 142 ; Count of, hostile to
Frederick II., 218; defection of,
from Frederick II., 297 ; returns to
his allegiance, 298 ; is reconciled
with Pope, 313 ; Turin taken from
House of, 368 ; rule of, in Turin and
Aosta, 378 ; Philip of, revolts from
Henry VII., 408 ; Philip of, leads
Guelf party, 411 ; acquisition of
Alba, and Chieri by House of, 462

Saxon line, 51 ; extinction of, 55

Scaligers, see Delia Scala

Schote. 39, 45

Scotti, family of, head of Guelfs in
Piacenza, 349, 411 ; expel Verzusio
Landi, 436

Scotto, Alberto, rule of, in Pia-

cenza, 384 ; alUed with Vlsooofi,
387 ; rules Bergamo for a year,
387 ; organises league agaioit Vis-
conti, 389 ; betrays Matteo Visooad.
389 ; quaurels with Torrnoi, 390 ;
driven from Piacenza, 391 ; Tidss*
tudes of, 396 ; restores GhAe]£Ks
to Piacenza, 409 ; ezpeb leades of
both factions and again becoBO
lord, 411 ; downfall of, 412; per-
fidy of, 412 ; FranoesGO, fab soil
l>ecomes master of Piacenza, 460;
surrenders to Visconti, 460 ; retaos
Pirenznola, 460

Senones, the, 28

Seprio, County of, 60, 73, idS, 115;
Count of, 120 ; lords o^ 13S 13^
156 ; grant of, to Milaa, 160 ; ies-
dalityof, 178

Sesia, River, 22, 24

Sessi, murder Podesta of Mcrcliants
in Reggio, 301 ; oppooenti of, ez- |
pelled from Reggio, 501 ; expe&d
from Reggio, 337 ; maintain them- I
selves in the mountains, 344 ; lead
Ghibellines of Reggio, 34S; is
exile, 392 ; recalled, 440 ; expeUed
440 ; in exile, 441 ; return of, 459

Sicaird, Bishop of Cremona, 139, 160,
161, 204

Sicily, 115; King of, 126; Williaa
King of, 130 ; Frederick IL aod,
234 ; Saracens of, revolt, 236; fleet
of, 292 ; crown of, given to Chaxies
of Anjou, 336

Signore, name for ruler of Ifae Coo-
mnne, 377 ; becomes eqoivalest to
Despot, 377; varieties of, 378;
character of the, 379; oflBces from
which his power arose, 380; be-
comes a legitimate prince, 380;
insecurity of position of, 388;
theoretical oonstitatlon nndor, 433 ;
in practice absolute, 453 ; nttimafie
source of all law, 433

Signoria, name of governing txxly ia
the Commune, 189 ; name used to
indicate rule of a despot^ 377

Siena, 49 ; magistracy of the iwve in,
190 ; remains of towers in, 192 ;
trophies from, in Pemgia, 224;

INDEX

491

active in cause of Frederick II.,
299; heads Tuscan Qhibellines,
337 ; isiws against nobles in, 355

Soardi, famOy of, 349, 387

Solarii, leaders of Guelfs of Asti, 390 ;
supreme in Asti, 451

Spoleto, Duchy of, 141, 215, 234

Sosa, position of, 26 ; Markgrafs of,
52 ; attacks Barbarossa, 136 ; burned
by Bart)arossa, 142

Sntri, 296

Suzara, Castle of, 212

Symonds, quotation from, 201, 277

Taddeo of Suessa, 297, 298; slam

before Parma, 305
Taro, River, 22
Thedald, made Archbishop of Milan

by Emperor, 70 ; crowns Henry IV.,

Theodoric, conquers Italy, 34 ; resi-
dences at Ravenna, Pavia, and
Verona, 34; distribution of lands
by, 38

Thessalonica, Kingdom of, 367

Tidno River, 22

Tidnum, old name of Pavia, 34;
residence of Theodoric, 34

Torelli, 193 ; oppose Adelardi in Fer-
rara, 211 ; restored to Ferrara, 395

Tornielli, made Imperial Vicars in
Novara, 445 ; rulers of Novara, 451 ;
overthrow of, 455

Torriani, see Ddla Torre

Tortona, position of, 26 ; allied with
Milan, 94 ; siege of, by Barbarossa,
102 ; captured and burned by Bar-
barossa, 103 ; rebuilt by Milanese,
105 ; destroyed by Pavia, 125 ; re-
built by Parma and Piacenza,
136 ; defection from the Lombard
League, 150; given jurisdiction
over the oontado, 172 ; at war
with Genoa, 237; under Oberto
Pelavidni, 334; handed over by
him to Pavia, 339 ; under William
of Montferrat, 368 ; under Pelavi-
dni, 368; again under William,
369 ; captured by Visconti, 412 ;

surrender of, to Guelfs, 437 ; acqui-
sition of, by Visconti, 462

Towers built by nobles in the dties,
80, 191 ; height of, limited by law,
192 ; number and names of, in
Bologna, 355

Trebbia, R, 22

Tremacoldo conspires against Vis-
tarini, 446 ; starves them to death,
446 ; ruler of Lodi, 451 ; surrenders
to Visconti, 459

Trent, podtion of, 26 ; burghers of,
in army of Frederick II., 269 ; taken
by Ezzdino, 315 ; recovers its free-
dom, 327 ; Louis of Bavaria at, 445

Trepievi, Federation of, 88 ; warship
of, 88 ; make peace with Como, 89 ;
ezdusion of, from Peace of Con-
stance, 156 ; an independent mem-
ber of the League, 164 ; struggles
of, with Como, 167

Trevisan Mark, see Veronese Mark

Treviso, position of, 25 ; war of, with
Verona and Vicenza, 97 ; joins the
Lombard League, 127; attacks
Belluno, 209; war with Venice
and Patriarch of Aquileia, 209;
aids Ezzelino, 214 ; festival in, 221 ;
condition of, 245 ; indted by Ezze-
lino to attack Feltre and Bellano,
251 ; reoondled with her enemies
by Frii Giovanni of Schio, 256;
surrenders to Ezzelino, 268 ; revolts
from Frederick II., 280 ; lands of,
granted to Padua, 281 ; resists
Ezzelino, 299; under Alberic of
Romano, 315 ; joins in crusade
against Ezzelino, 319; goes over
to his side, 320 ; executions in, 321 ;
Alberic flies from, 327 ; tyranny of
Alberic in, 327; Great Coundl
of, passes sentence on House of
Romano, 327; factions in, 386;
Gherardo da Camino Incomes lord
of, 386 ; Rizzardo da Camino made
Imperial Vicar of, 409 ; expulsion
of Da Camino from, 410 ; attack on,
by Can Grande, 430 ; German gar-
rison recdved in, 430 ; invokes hdp
from Frederick of Austria, Henry
of Carinthia, and Louis of Bavaria,

INDEX

430 ; ■orrender of, to Caa Grande,

431 ; death ol Caa Grande in, 432
Treno, Castle of, 114, 133, 324
TrotU, Gnellt in AleMandria, 368,

369

Turin, position of, 36 ; Markgnf s of,
52; weloomes Barbarossa, I03;
joins Second Lombard League,
239; Frederick II. advances to,
297; supports Charles of Anjou,
337 ; under William of Montf errat,
368 ; recovered by Savoy, 369

Tuscany, small communes of, 85;
obedient to Frederick I., 140, 165 ;
statutes of communes in, 166 ; par-
tisans of Frederick IL in, 299 ; in
hands of the GhibeUines, 337

Ubaidini, 169; Cardinal Ottaviano
degli, 305 ; Dante's reference to^ 306

Uberti, 198, 299

Uberio de Iniquitate, 308

(Jdine,25

Ugucdone deUa Paggi^ola, 423

Umiliati, start woollen manufactures,
229 ; manage finanoes of Verona,
433

Val di Nievole, CaateUi of, 85

Val di Taro, 343

Valensa,46i

Valsassina, lordship of Delia Tern
famUy, 273, 332

Valtellina, daims of Come to, 73 ;
ravaged by Milanese, 90 ; straggles
with Como, 167 ; forced to recog>
nise Como as its feudal superior,
172 ; policy of Como towards, 178

Valvassores, see Valvassors

Valvaaaors, meaning of, 47 ; wish to
make their fiefs hereditary, 60;
W2^ of, with captains in Milan,
60 ; eCpetl^ from Lodi, 75 ; posi-
tion of, in the Conmiunes, 81 ; of
Milan; 237, 238

Vaprio^ l^atUe of, 366^ 438

Varenna, men of Isola Comadna
settle at, 140

Vaslo, Marquises of, 153

Veneti, The, 20, 22 ; forces of, 29

Venetia, Province of, 20, 31

Venice, position of, 25; foundation
of, 33 ; allied with the Greek Em-
pire, 126 ; joins the Lombard
League, 127 ; quarrels with the
Gredc Empire, 141 ; blockades
Ancona, 141 ; congress at, 151 ;
reconciliation of Barbarossa with
the Holy See at, 152 ; peace of,
15^153 ; ck)sing of Grand Council
in, 181 ; war of, with Treviso, 209 ;
war of, with Padua, 222 ; peace
brought about by, in Mardb, 265 ;
takes action against Frederick 11^
279; jealousy of, with regard to
Fenara, 284; joins in crasade
against Fzxelino, 317 ; iUumina-
tions in on downfall of Ecaelino,
327 ; seizes Fenara, 395 ; people
of excommunicated, 395; great
defeat ol, 396

Ventura, chronicle of, 397 ; his de-
scription of the effects of faction,

398
Veroelli, position of, 24 ; Bishop of,
made niler of the whole diocese,
44 ; Bishop of , 68 ; its neighbours,
93 ; welcomes Barbarossa, 102 ;
founds Villanova, 168; founds
Borgofranco, 169; divides Bian-
drate with Novara, 169 ; hostile to
Frederick 11^ 218; submits to
Frederick II., 274 ; defection of
from Frederick II., 292 ; changes
of side of, accounted fQr,300 ; goes
over to Frederick II., 305 ; under
Oberto Pelavicini, 334; Filippo
della Torre recognised as signore
of , 334 ; stormed by army of Charies
of Anjou, 338 : William of Mont-
ferrat war captain of, 369 ; ^libel-
lines expelled from, 373 ; factions
of pacified by Henry VII^ 400;
revolt of, from Henry VI L, 408 ;
stre^ fighting in, 409 ; victory of
Guelfs in, 409; surrender of, to
Gfaibellines,4i8; King John made
lord of, 452 ; handed over to
Visconti,4S5

INDEX

403

Verooa, position of, 35 ; plandered
by Attila, 33; "Chiuae" of, S3;
Mark of, 53 ; towers of, 80 ; attacks
Mantua, 83 ; wars of, with Mantua,
97 ; with Padua and IVevisO) 97 ;
joins the Lombard League, 127 ;
invaded by Barbarossa, 127 ; nearly
destroyed by fire, 191 ; heads of
Guelf party in, 198; nobles of,
eaecnted for intrigue with Bar-
barossa, 200 ; defeat of, by Cremona
and Mantua, 393 ; aids Vicenza
against Padua, 209; factions of,
410 ; street fighting and conflagra-
tion in, 410 ; vicissitudes of, 212 ;
Monteochi expelled from, 213 ;
under Azzo of Bste, 213; sides
with Frederick II., 217; Palazzo
della Ragione at, 227; torn by
factions among nobles, 245 ; Mon-
teochi expelled from, 246 ; new
party in, 246 ; dty seized by
Ezzelino, 247 ; jurisdiction oi
Counts of San Bonifazio in, 248 ;
adheres to second Lombard League,
249 : parties dissolved in, 250 ; the
" Recior " Julian introduces a more
democratic constitution in, 252 ; new
tumults in, 252 ; Ezzelino becomes
master of, 252 ; attacked by neigh-
bouring Commxmes, 253 ; Imperial
garrison received in, 254 ; territory
of, ravaged, 254 ; Fri Giovanni of
Schio reconciles factions in, 256 ;
he assumes tities of Duke and
Podesta of, 256 ; bums heretics in,
256; Ezzelino again gets control of,
258 ; submits to Papal envoys, 260
Ezzelino withdraws from, 260
remains faithful to Emperor, 261
party of San Bonifazio expelled
from, 261 ; they plot to seize dty,
261 ; fresh outbreak in, 261 ; towers
and houses destroyed in, 262 ;
Ezzelino definitdy master of, 262 ;
general attack on, 263 ; arrival of
Emperor in, 263 ; attack on, by
League, 265 ; destroys castte of San
Bonifazio, 293 ; execution of nobles
of, by Ezzelino, 294 ; rule of Ezze-
lino in, 315 ; Paduans seized at

Church of San Giorgio in, 320;
Guelfs restored to, 327 ; expulsion
of Count of San Bonifazio from,
330 ; under control of Mastino
della Scala, 330 ; definitely Ghibel-
line, 330; party government in,
346; Ghibelline triumph that of
popoloin, 350; steadily GhilbelUne,
350 ; growth of power of the della
Scala in, 385 ; Alberto della Scala
lord of, 385 ; ruin of great families
of, 398 ; Scaligers made Imperial
Vicars of, 409 ; prosperity of, under
Mastino and Alberto della Scala,
420 ; peace of, with Mantua, 421 ;
splendours of under Can Grande,
423 ; constitution of, underScaligers,
433 ; education in, 434

Veronese Mark, situation of, 20;
joined to Bavaria, then to Carinthia,
94 ; freed from Carinthia, 95 ; dties
in, 95 ; quarrels of dties in, 95, 97 ;
dties of, form the Lombard League
with Venice, 127 ; cavalry of, at
Legnano, 147 ; feuds of nobles in,
301 ; records of, 206 ; Dante's
reference to, 206 ; nobles of, 206 ;
filled with rapine and confusion,
209 ; parties in, 212 ; war in, 220 ;
peace in, 221 ; separate league in,
253 ; factions in, padfied by Fra
Giovanni of Schio, 257 ; new war
in, 258 ; Ezzelino left as Emperor's
representative in, 267 ; visit of
Frederidc IL to, 278 ; departure
from, 381 ; position of Ezzelino in,
393 ; Ezzelino given full control in,
315 ; crusade of, against Alberic,
328 ; new era in, 329 ; short dura-
tion of peace in, 330 ; authority of
Ezzelino in, 381 ; affairs of, after
fall of Ezzelino, 385 ; peace in,
421 ; subject to Can Grande, 431

Via Aemilia, 20, 25, 93

Vioenza, position of, 35 ; plundered
by Attila, 33 ; war of, with Padua
and Treviso, 97 ; great fire in, 191 ;
factions in, 308 ; claims dominion
over Bassano, 309; rout of, by
Padua, 309; parties in, 3i3 ; ex-
pulsion of Ezzelino from, 314 ;

494

INDEX

defeat of, by Bassano and Ezze-
lino^ 214 ; money lenders in, 239 ;
democratic party in, 245 ; Marostica
•old to, 246 ; Count of, 248 ; sUte
of fMuties in, 249 ; popular party in,
250 ; fighting in, 250 ; Alberic of
Romano expelled from, 251 ;
government of, reformed by Pra
Giovanni of Schio, 256; outbreak
against F^ Oiovanai in, 257 ;
Alberic of Romano driven from,
260; stormed by Frederick II.,
265 ; sack of, 266 ; government of,
given to Ezxelino, 266 ; Frederick
questions astrologer at, 266 ; atro-
cities of Ezzeiino in, 316 ; recovers
its freedom, 327 ; discord of, with
Padua, 330; Ghibelline party among
nobles of, 349 ; becotntM subject to
Padua, 386; Scaligers made Im-
perial Vicars of, 409; vrar for
possession of, 410 ; revolution in,
424 ; Paduans expelled from, 424 ;
Can Grande becomes master of,
425 ; surprise of, by Paduans, 427 ;
rescue of, by Can Grande, 428;
plot to seize on, 428

Vioo, fortress of, 90 ; people of Como
take refuge at, 91

Villani, 167

Villani, Matteo, on Guelf and Ghibel-
line parties, 196, 408

Villari, Professor, 39

Visoonti, Otto appointed Archbishop
of Milan, 335; family of, 335;
recognised as Archbishop, 340 ;
rule of family of, in Milan as heads
of the nobles, 342 ; Otto, 361 ;
enters Milan and made lord of the
dty, 364 ; shares rule with William
of Montferrat, 366 ; becomes his
enemy, 366 ; war of, with William
of Montferrat, 371 ; allied with
some Guelf cities, 371 ; Matteo,
nephew of Otto, 372; becomes
lord of Novara, Vercelli, and Como,
372 ; obtains title of Imperial Vicar,
373 ; League against, 373 ; allies of,
373 ; his son Galeazso, 373 ; rela-
tion of, to factions, 374 ; nature
of rule of Otto, 383 ; cities ruled

by Matteo, 386; league against,
389 ; driven from Milan, 389 ;
answer of Matteo to a spy, 376 ;
accompanies Henry VII., 400 ;
aU^ed plot of against Delia Torre,
403 ; left master of Milan, 403 ;
Matteo and his sons, 412 ; successes
of, 412 ; cities subject to, 413 ;
Stefano captures Pavia, 413 ;
Lnccfaino takes Alessandria, 414 ;
activity of Matteo, 417 ; excooi-
municated, 418 ; takes Vercelli,
418 ; Gakazzo takes Cremona, 419 ;
Matteo wishes for peace with Pope,
419 ; lays dovm his power, 419 ;
death of, 420 ; his character, 420 ;
decline of family after death of,
435 ; Galeazzo expels Verzasio
Landi from Piacenza, 435; and
loses the dty in consequence, 436 ;
Lodrisio attacks Galeazzo, 436;
Galeazso forced to leave Milan,
436 ; recalled after a month, 436 ;
plot of German mercenaries against,
437 ; Giovanni rescues Galeazzo,
438 ; victory of Galeazzo at Monza,
438 ; Louis of Bavaria seizes
Galeazzo, and other Visoonti, 445 ;
they are rdeased, 447 ; death of
Galeazzo, 447 ; his son Azzo made
Imperial Vicar, 448; becomes
ruler of Milan, 448 ; negotiates
with Pope, 448 ; defies Louis of
Bavaria, 448 ; recondled with Pope,
451 ; made Lord of Milan for life,
451 ; joins league against King
John, 453 ; takes Bergamo, 455 ;
l)eoomes master of Vercelli, 455 ;
his unde Giovanni wins Novara
for him, 455 ; Cremona surrenders
to, 458 ; gets possession of Ccnno,
Lodi, and Crema, 459 ; Lncchino
buys Asti, 461 ; acquires Alessan-
dria, 461 ; acquires Bobbio and
Tortona, 462 ; league against the,
462 ; otitain possession of Pavia,
464
Vistarint, leaders of popular party in
Lodi, 313, 348 ; Sucdo dei rules
Lodi, 382 ; rulers of Lodi, 415, 436 ;
crudties of, 446 ; downfall of, 446

INDEX

495

Vitani, leaden of the people in Como,
333f 349 ; ri«e against Roaconi, 372,
383 ; become supreme in Como,
390 ; expelled, 413

Viterbo revolts from Frederick II.,
295 ; siege of, 295 ; rejoins
Frederick's party, 299

Vittoria, 304

Vivario, family of, 208

Waiblingen, see Ghibelline

Welf, boose of, loi ; Welf, Duke of

Bavaria, 134 ; house of, 193 ; brother
of Henry of Bavaria, 193 ; name
used to denote partisan of Papacy,
194 ; Guelf, Ihtlianised form of,
194 ; head of house of, 218
Worms, Concordat of, 91

Zanicalli, family in Mantua, 351
Zenevolta, battle of, 259
Zeno, Emperor, 34
Zibello, battle of, 223

imWDI ntOTBBRS, LDimOk
WHOKO AND UNDOa.

TIIR NEW YORK PUBUC UBRARV

TIOs k«M»k i« ujsdttff Aft olr«»afttMio«« t9 be

lAken froa tlie Eiailcfmit 1

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